


Insurmountable Poison

by UmbralOne



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 32,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26545309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UmbralOne/pseuds/UmbralOne
Summary: Due to an unforeseen event a broken and defeated Neferpitou raises from the dead. Drenched in wrath and hatred, the chimera ant sets out on a journey to fulfill her last duty - to exact revenge on all of humanity.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 32





	1. Nine lifes

The full moon was shining over the forest of East Gorteau, drowning the landscape in its pale light. A gentle wind was blowing through the night, not strong enough to flutter a single leaf from the many that had fallen on the ground. Like droplets of blood they were scattered around demolished trees, their trunks snapped in two by an enormous force. Only a few days have passed since the violent battle that ended the tyranny of the chimera ant king, yet the forest was already silent and peaceful. Nature began to recover from the damage it sustained, but so did someone else. The full moon, like a big, open eye will be the sole witness of a monsters rebirth.

Deep in the forest was an area so scarred that not even the most resistant plants could reclaim it. The soil was scorched and blackened, dead trees encircled its borders as if to prevent its spreading. In the middle of this wasteland lay a single body, belonging to the former royal guard Neferpitou. Being surrounded by death was a fitting resting place for the chimera ant, but a slow breathing was disturbing the tranquility of this shallow grave. Instead of the brutalized corpse Gons devastating rage left behind the body was whole. Neferpitou has been lying there motionless ever since that night.

Killuas desire to turn his friend back to normal came true by a hastily made wish. But similarly to a hanging thread, when one forces his will on reality, pushing it in one direction, a swing to the opposite side is inevitable before returning to a neutral position. In order to completely fulfill her brothers request Nanika reversed all the consequences of the reckless vow that intertwined both life and death. While this saved Gon from his fate, the mysterious power dragged Pitou back to life since her death was also the result of the same vow Nanika unmade.

Of course the wish was not made with her in mind. It did restore the grisly wounds Gon himself inflicted, but the immense damage that was done indirectly remained. Most of her bones had many tiny fractures in them, some on the verge of breaking. Muscles and tendons were torn and strained, making even the slightest of movements painful. Nevertheless, her body was restored to working order and Pitou awake in the dead of the night. She slowly opened her eyes, the light of the moon giving them a crimson hue.

The world was spinning around her, consisting only of blurry colors and wriggling shapes. It took her a while just to form her first competent thoughts. Her mind was blank, only registering the sounds and scents of her surroundings. She also noted the dull pain aching from everywhere. As time passed on the pain only grew stronger. With every breath she could feel her chest almost explode, her rib cage objecting to the small pressure. Her limbs felt like they were made out of lead, hardly movable, and her back felt as if thousands of hot needles were poking it from every direction. In such state trying to get up was pointless, so she slowly crawled to the nearest dead tree and pulled herself up from the ground, the blackened bark cracking under her touch.

Once up on her legs, trembling just from supporting her weight, Pitou began inspecting herself. Her clothes were reduced to rags, all torn, stained with her own blood and burnt. Her jacket, which once shiny buttons reflected no light back now due to the layer of smut on them, had many holes in it with a particularly large one on the chest. What was even more interesting is that her skin under that area, unlike the rest of her body, was devoid of any injury or dirt. She also noted that somewhere, somehow she lost her shoes. Overall, the whole situation was a mystery. It was clear that she was badly wounded but somehow managed to stay alive. She placed her hand on the side of her face as she tried to recall what happened. Her memories were hazy and she felt a numbing pain in her head. Nothing came to her mind that would explain her current condition, but something in the black circle she just crawled out of grabbed her attention. It was a severed and shriveled up arm tossed aside, like a toy someone got bored of.

“Gon...” she hissed with malice in her voice.

As she muttered that name her eyes lit up in a red glow, irises shrank into narrow lines not unlike that of a wild cat. She remembered a human named Gon. His overwhelming hatred and rage was burnt into her mind, as well as his determination to kill. Pitou didn’t remember whether she actually fought him or not, nor how he even looked like. In fact, she couldn’t recall anything that happened recently, but the faint memory of that human made her angry and…scared? Such a creature must be destroyed to defend the king. The king!

Pitou immediately stopped thinking about the past and activated her en. She felt her aura surveying the land, reaching far distances. The eldritch crimson en engulfed the forest, forming horrid, shifting appendages. She was able to maintain it for about a second. After that, her en collapsed and she was left without any aura to control. Unknown to her coming back to life took a huge toll on her nen capabilities. The torturous process restricted her nen output to a fraction of its former self for a week. Even by the end of that week she would only regain it back slowly, day by day.

This new condition of not being able to feel the familiar flow of her aura, a state completely alien to her was a frightening experience. Even so, what worried her the most was the fact that she couldn’t sense the king, nor her fellow royal guards. She must find them as soon as possible, and accept any punishment for her absence. Aside from the local animals the only presence she felt during that single second were a bunch of humans to the west, at the edge of her en. Perhaps she could make them provide some information about the events that were lost to her. She also just noticed how incredibly hungry she was. A sadistic smile appeared on her face as she was dragging herself towards the direction of the humans. They were weak non nen users, she should be able to finish them off quickly even like this. Pitou licked her lips at the thought of fresh human brain. No feelings clouded her determination and merciless intentions. She only saw fragile playthings she could satisfy her cruel urges with.

A sudden, strong blow from the wind passed through between the trees, making an eerie noise as the catlike royal guard limped towards her prey in the night, clinging to trees with her hands for support.


	2. A new nightmare

They were nowhere to be found. Neferpitou noted in disappointment that by the time she was able to make her way through the thick forest, and reach the location of those humans she just sensed, they were already gone. Their camp, however, was right in front of her. She saw six tents, almost matching her deep blue jacket in color, and a much bigger one, the size of a smaller house. This large mobile facility was connected to a small red truck. Had it been daylight its bright yellow walls would even annoy her sensitive eyes. Above its entrance painted by big black letters was the warning “DO NOT ENTER”, warding off uninvited guests.

Judging by the relative cleanness of the camp are they must have moved here recently. Aside from the remnants of a small fire near the center and a few small boxes scattered around, probably used to hold their food, there was nothing noteworthy about the place.

“ _Oh well, they will have to come back sooner or later and I will be waiting here. I’m going to play a little game with them, the last survivor will be the lucky one to answer my questions,_ ” she thought to herself with a small chuckle, shrugging her shoulders which she immediately regretted due to the pain that simple motion caused her.

Out of curiosity she approached the large, tent like establishment. Ignoring the warning she opened its entrance. As if she just stepped inside the bowels of a large monster complete darkness surrounded her. The moonlight was not strong enough to light up the insides, or even to pass through its thick walls. She noticed a switch to her left, only visible due to her remarkable night vision even though it was right next to her. Since her keen senses could notice anyone trying to get close to the campsite she switched it on without any fear of giving away her presence. The rows of lamps hanging from the ceiling flickered before emitting a strong light. Pitou let out a short hiss. Yet again, she was left disappointed. The inside of this building was filled with containers made out of metal, each one of them longer than the average human. Some of them had labels on them and each of them had a small window that enabled the viewer to take a peek inside. How boring, she at least expected something she could entertain herself with to pass the time, until her meal comes back.

Having nothing better to do she walked up to the closest one with a smirk, tail swinging back and forth giving away her eagerness. As she peeked through the small window the contents of the metallic box made her rise an eyebrow. From the inside the corpse of a beheaded, fish like chimera ant was staring back at her, its head put above the severed neck. One of the Ortho siblings, she realized. As she proceeded to explore the rest of the containers, or coffins more appropriately, she discovered more and more corpses of the ants she knew were working for them. The smirk disappeared from her face as an uneasy feeling took hold of her. She didn’t really care about any of the deceased soldiers. They were only expendable tools in service of the king, it was expected of them to die under his command. But the sheer number of the dead, as well as how the humans were so calmly gathering them made her feel that something terrible must have happened.

She reached the last four of these odd coffins. These were even more reinforced than the rest, their dim shine twinkling like a small candle, lit in remembrance of the dead. There were several labels on them containing warnings like “CHEMICAL HAZARD” and “DO NOT OPEN”. The closest one had a single, familiar name written on its cover: “Menthuthuyoupi”. Pitous hearth skipped a beat as she slowly made her way to the incredibly thick peeking window. Inside she saw her fellow royal guard although in a pathetic, weakened and shrunken condition, a sharp contrast to his former bulking self. Neferpitous eyesight began to blur as she looked down on the lifeless body. It felt like reality itself was warping around her, mocking her with horrible visions. Her hands began to shake as she felt a lump in her throat. Right next to Youpi the second coffin contained Shaiapouf. Her steps grew heavy, it felt like hands erupting from the ground were clinging to her. On the third one she found her own name, “Neferpitou”, written on the cover. While she looked through the glass she half expected to find her own corpse inside before awakening from this terrible nightmare. The container, however, was empty, further confirming that this was indeed real and not some horrifying dream. Only one left to go. On this one she found an unfamiliar name: “Meruem”. The dread that was building up inside her reached its peak. Behind the reinforced glass, as if it was a gateway to another plane tormenting her with her worst fears, she saw her king laying there in a profound sleep. Majestic and dignified as ever, but also still and dead. She wanted to curl up and cry, to scream and let out some of the pain that was hurting more than any physical injury ever could, to end this world that she has seen so little of, yet it already took everything away from her. But she did none of that.

As her eyes widened all reason left them, vision turning into a pulsating red veil. The shock was so great that her consciousness faded away to the back of her mind, giving away all control to her primal, animalistic instincts. She opened her mouth but instead of a desperate scream a loud roar left her lungs, ear shattering and more akin to a sound a wild animal would make rather than a sentient being. Hands forming hooks with razor sharp claws she burst out of the side of this bizarre cemetery. Her severely wounded body was screaming against such actions, but the beast she degraded into did not care the slightest. It could only feel the overwhelming grief, pain and rage. After escaping the place that caused so much suffering the mindless beast prowled through the night desiring nothing but destruction. Any tree that was in her way was cut down in a single swipe. Any animal unfortunate enough to be noticed by her was slain in a split of a second. She left only death in her wake, a bloody funeral march dedicated to her king.

She regained her senses after a while, finding herself in the middle of a clearing. She was hunched over a mutilated, half eaten carcass of a stag. Its torso was teared in half, bloody bones sticking out of it and pointing to every direction, various body parts and insides scattered around resembling a morbid puzzle. Neferpitou gazed down on her bloody claws, the vital fluids of her victims making them sticky. Warm blood covered her mouth, reaching down to her chin like some sort of gruesome face paint, its bright color a strong contrast to her pale skin. Tears started streaming down from her eyes, and her body started to shake uncontrollably. The mere thought of the ant king being defeated by humans was atrocious. For the first time in her life she felt true loss, the agony turning even the mighty royal guard into a weeping mess. She barely noticed how bad her wounds were hurting, a price she had to pay for the violent breakdown. Still looking at her claws morose thoughts came into her mind. A swift strike at her own hearth and she could follow her king to the afterlife. Everything was wrong, without her ruler the whole world was so empty, where she only existed as a mockery of her former self, severely weakened and devoid of any purpose or hope. Only death could ease the pain of such tragedy.

But no, as long as she breathes she must serve the king, even if he is dead. Taking her own life right now wouldn’t benefit him, it would be a selfish act to earn a peace she didn’t deserve. Both Youpi and Pouf died defending their king, giving up even their bodies while fulfilling their duties. What did she do? She let herself be bested in a meaningless battle she didn’t even remember, far away from her responsibilities, outliving the person she was supposed to give her life for. No, she will live with the weight of her failure crushing her every day, trying to bring her king the glory he deserved that she couldn't give him in his life. With this self inflicted punishment she could at least try to atone for her grave mistakes. Only then she will be allowed to rest. The humans wont forget the ant king….Meruem so easily.

Neferpitou sat down with crossed legs and started weighing her options for revenge. She placed one finger on her chin, looking upwards as she was absorbed in her thoughts, poking red holes into the dead animal with her other hand. The sensation of flesh ripping apart under her claws helped her calm down and focus her mind on forming a plan.

The humans clearly showed that they are not to be underestimated. Attacking head on would be futile, even at the peek of her strength she couldn't hope to defeat them alone. Making such a mistake now is going to be lethal, she won’t survive whatever they did to her a second time. Instead of an open charge she needs to be cunning now and strike when they don’t expect it, deny them any chance to fight back. To leave them in their false sense of safety until its too late. She has the advantage. They believe her to be dead and thanks to her appearance she could infiltrate them. A bit of clothing to cover her feline parts and they won’t be able to tell her apart from a regular human. For now she must hide, laying low and concealing her aura to avoid any risk. But to actually get somewhere she still needs strong allies...or puppets. How did that man who unwillingly taught her nen called himself, Hunter? Yes, as far as she knew they are the elite of the human race, they must have been the ones behind the attack too. So the Hunters are going to be her first prey. She will join them, and once in their ranks she will slowly kill the most powerful ones when they are away and alone, gathering all the corpses to use as puppets. Like a blood sucking tick, silently growing stronger while weakening the host. By the time they realize what’s going on she should be able to release a mindless, nen using army upon the rest of them. The Hunters will be no more and all their influence will be hers to control. Then, she will destroy the rest of humanity, ravaging the world in the name of Meruem or die trying.

A faint smile ran through Pitous face at the realization of her new purpose. She started licking off the blood from her claws, painting her bared fangs in red. As she looked up at the full moon the brilliant radiance reminded her of the eyes of her king. The thought gave her a cold serenity. Maybe Meruem was still watching her from somewhere, his last living guard, an extension of his will from beyond the grave. Behind her in the distance a bird cried out, a grim farewell to the lost souls of the night.


	3. Devious roads

“What on earth were you thinking!” Shouted Morel into his phone, his grasp tightening around the unfortunate device. ”I told you to wait for the escort I sent for your team.”

He was furious. As the most experienced living member of the squad that took care of the chimera ant threat the Hunter Association consigned him to manage the remnants of their victory. The researchers the association hired to collect and analyze the corpses were accompanied by a group of professional hunters. The shift of the previous group ended yesterday and Morel already sent out another one. The researchers, however, decided that they had to move their camp and explore still unsafe areas while they were defenseless. They grew too bold and unsurprisingly something happened. Someone broke into their storing facility, switched on the lights and teared a big hole in its side. Troublesome news, and he had no idea what to make of it. It couldn’t have been an ant on the loose because in that case he wouldn’t be speaking with the same scientists right now.

“Just tell me that your trip at least worth it,” he said, giving up on lecturing these clowns.

“It was indeed a fruitful night sir!” He responded in an attempt to calm down the angry giant. “We are only missing one corpse now.”

“Which one?” Morel asked, somewhat cooled down by the statement.

“The last of the royal guard, Neferpitous corpse,” he explained. ”Strange, we just discovered a location that matched your description of the battlefield. We even found a severed human arm there, but there was no sign of a dead body.”

“I see. Just stay there and wait for my man to arrive this time,” directed Morel before ending the conversation.

He got an unnerving feeling from the last part of the call. If what he said was true then that damned corpse should have been there. Was someone else also collecting them? Or did that thing got up and just walked away? According to Killua that shouldn’t be possible. There must be some explanation to all of this. Unknown to him had the scientists bothered to wander a bit further into the forest by the side of their camp they would have found the proof of their visitors inhuman nature.

* * *

The town of Teveala was having another lively day. Hardworking farmers were tending to their crops on the vast fields bordering the town from the east. Shopkeepers were presenting their wares, sometimes raising their voice as a pesky customer tried to haggle for a price they found offending. The air was filled with the sound of animals and the chatting of the locals. 

Had they known that a pair of red eyes filled with harm were pinned on them they would have immediately tried to flee screaming, leaving everything behind. Neferpitou was sitting atop of a tree, hiding between its branches. She was keeping a safe distance from the human settlement. Her incredible sight and hearing could still observe their every move, hear their irritating chatter. She wanted to study human interaction a bit before her debut, but the task proved to be a difficult one. The blood lust she felt was almost unbearable. Normally she wouldn’t even bother with such weaklings unless she was hungry. Fighting them would be boring and they would succumb to the games she had in mind too fast. But after what this miserable race had done she wanted nothing more than to launch herself at them and massacre every single one, making them suffer the way they made her. Recent events cultivated the unintentional cruelty of a child, not fully comprehending the pain it caused, into full-blown spitefulness. The mere sight of these wretched things filled her with an unquenchable wrath. Her claw like nails dug deep into the tree as she imagined herself standing in the middle of their village, surrounded by countless bodies drowning her sorrow in a red sea. The only thing barely stilling her hands was the knowledge that revealing herself too soon would spell her own demise for sure. Dying before fulfilling Meruems vengeance was even more unbearable than the blood lust. Pitou grabbed her left arm and let out a relieved sigh. It started to feel a bit better. She was afraid that she would have to amputate it, mimicking her king. During her travel to this place she managed to damage it even further. It was a risk she had to take.

After coming up with her plan a night ago, she realized that she already made a mistake. The mess she left behind during her rampage would surely betray her, so she did the only thing she could do. When traveling long distances Youpi or Pouf used to carry her using their wings. Without their help she had to resort to her leaps. While she could cover a vast range, in her current state both the take off and the landing was painful and messy. Her hurt legs alone could not stop the impact of her fall, and every time she had to return to the ground she tumbled around for a few meters uncontrollably. During such a landing she hit a boulder at full force with her left arm. At first she felt a sharp pain, then she couldn’t feel the limb at all for a while. Pitou did not know how far she managed to travel before arriving here. While in the air she was using all her senses to find water, since humans usually like to build settlements around bodies of water and a nearby, decently big lake seemed to sprout this town.

Pitou wasted the previous day in a coma like state. The traveling drained all the power that was left in her wounded body. Somehow she managed to drag herself into a cave before collapsing to the ground and passing out. She awoke much later and tried conjuring Doctor Blythe to at least fix her arm, but she couldn’t even make the construction appear let alone start an operation. After nightfall she forced herself to sneak into the town and get a few things she needed, like the new clothes she took from houses she crept into. They were in the big beige bag that she was wearing over her shoulder. It was a bit longer than her arm and had a single big opening decorated by a metallic button, shaped like a flower. Beside some useless junk she found a purse with some money in it. Their currency fit the humans, it looked just as worthless as them, but Pitou knew it could still prove to be useful.

Growing tired of this boring occupation she climbed down from the tree and headed for the lake. She had to clean herself up from all the blood and dirt before she could change into her new clothes. Just thinking about how messy she was made her shiver. When she arrived at the lake she went to an area that was surrounded with reed, like a closed swimming pool, their green stem poking out of the clear water. While she was confident that no one was around this time of the day she still wanted to make sure no one saw her. After stripping down her old, damaged outfit she stepped into the water that was gleaming invitingly in the sunlight.

“Meow! Cold…,” she cried out. The sudden voice scared away a few nearby ducks, they loudly flopped their wings as they flew away.

This was the first time she had the chance to take a look at her own face since the start of her journey. Due to the frequent headaches she was having Pitou was prepared to see some form of damage on the face that was staring back from the reflective surface of the water. At least a lump on her head, perhaps a few burnt hair strings due to the heat that also blackened parts of her clothes. Even so, both her head and hair were in perfect condition, albeit a bit paler than she remembered. The rest of her body looked like how she expected it, riddled with countless deep wounds and severe bruises. She felt most of her bones, her ribs and spine aching, but none of them seemed to be actually broken. In the daylight she also noticed that the skin between her breasts, the area where the hole was on her jacket, had a slightly lighter tone from the rest of her body as well. It was like the skin of a newborn, untouched by the rays of the sun. Did some form of acid ate away a layer of her skin? Unlikely, and it didn’t even matter anymore she thought as she submerged herself in the water.

Once she was satisfied with her looks she stepped out of the water and waited till she was dry. After putting on her new clothes she took a look at her reflection. The silky fabric of the short sleeve shirt was resting gently on her skin, following the curves of her body. It was light grey with black embroidery on its collar, which was adjustable with three black buttons. It earned her liking, unlike the trousers she was now wearing. She tried her best to find something that wouldn’t limit her movements too much, and she ended up with a dark one made out of a flexible material. Her knee pads had to be covered, so it was necessary to get long ones but still, when she tried to crouch down it was annoying. Her tail was hidden inside the clothing, coiled up to her left leg. It took her a bit of time to adjust to the change in balance. On her head rested a navy blue hat. Under it her cat ears were starting to get itchy. Over her shirt she was wearing a thin, brown jacket. While her arms were no different from a humans she would rather not show off the various bruises and cuts that covered them now. She also had a pair of gloves in the pocket of her jacket, but she refused to wear them unless it was necessary. After the careful inspection she clapped her hands in joy. She found her camouflage to be perfect, bland enough to not make her stand out of the crowd.

Before heading for the town she decided to sleep till nightfall. Staying awake for too long caused her to became disoriented and increasingly weaker. Besides, it felt like sleeping had a good effect on her recovery, and she would rather avoid the crowd during the day anyway. Neferpitou retreated back into the small cave that she found. Its floor was rigid and the air inside felt humid, but at least it was relatively isolated. After finding a spot where the stone floor was flat and clean she put the bag under her head, and curled up like a cat on her right side. She did not want to sleep on the dirty ground in her clean clothes, and her hurting spine was grateful for her heads elevated position due to the makeup pillow. Pitou drifted off almost immediately.

There was something more broken inside her than just her body. During her sleep Neferpitou saw unclear visions. She saw forms and places somewhat familiar, but just too blurry to make out. She heard voices she recognised, but just couldn’t understand. Every time she was about to make some sense of it its meaning avoided her grasp.

Pitou woke up just in time to see the setting sun, the fiery ball retreating behind the horizon to make room for its colder counterpart that was forever in its steps. Her dreams too followed her into the real world, filling her with unfamiliar sensations.

She shook her head, dismissing the baffling thoughts. It was time.

As darkness fell upon Teveala with the night, Pitou roamed its roads. The street lights gave her silvery hair an orangish glow as it was flowing in the wind. Her steps were slow but steady with an unnoticeable limp to her left leg, she refused to show any weakness even though her legs felt like they were burning in the inside. She only encountered a few of the locals, most of them trying to get home after a few too many drinks in the pub, and none of them paid any attention to her. Aside from a few malicious glances she wasted no time on them. She was searching for an optimal place to get some much needed information. After a while she stopped at the front door of a smaller house. The white, double story house was placed on the border of the town. Light was slipping into the night through its closed window shutters from downstairs. She knocked on the maple door.

“Yes? Who is it?” Asked the stocky man who opened the door. He had a short haircut with a few days old stubble. He must have been in his late thirties, and smelled like soil. He wore simple clothing and the callosities on his palm gave away his occupation as a local farmer. He was clearly surprised to have a visitor at this hour.

“Excuse me sir, but I got lost,” recited Pitou just as she planned beforehand, with her arms crossed behind her back to look as harmless as possible. ”I am traveling with a group visiting this country. When our bus stopped for a break I wandered off too far and missed its departure. I tried to follow it but ended up here. Could you help me find my way back to them?”

“Oh I see. Come in then, I will help you out! You are in luck young miss, we are famous for treating our guests well,” he said as he stepped aside to let Neferpitou enter his house. After she stepped in the man led her through what seemed to be a living room into a kitchen. Pitou, like a silent shadow, followed him with eyes fixated on the back of his neck. The kitchen she found herself in had white walls with a few tiny cracks in it. The floor was coated with brown tiles, disappearing under the various furniture one would expect to see in a kitchen. A small table was placed in the left side of the room with two wooden chairs facing each other.

“Go ahead and take a seat,” he suggested, tipping towards the chairs. ”I will get a map and join you shortly.”

Pitou took the seat that was facing the only door to the room.

“My name is Mikal” he continued as Pitou heard him opening and searching through a few drawers in another room.

“You can call me Nyla,” she answered. She must have read the name somewhere.

Soon he appeared in the door holding a big map. He placed the map on the table and sat down on the other chair, the furniture squeaking in response to the weight.

“We are here right now.” Mikal pointed at a dot on the map. ”Do you know where your group could be?”

Neferpitou was relieved. According to the map she managed to travel from East to West Gorteau, and they were close to a bigger city by the shore. From there she should be able to travel away from this island. But to where exactly? She had to ask that too.

“Yes I do, we were on our way there.” She pointed to the nearby city.

“Oh, we don’t even need the map after all then,” said the man with a smile. ”Even on foot you should be able to reach it in about five hours.”

“That’s wonderful,” chirped Pitou happily. ”Since we already have this map here could you help me figure out something else too? I kind of forgot which city we are about to visit next, but I know they said that it will be filled with people trying to join the Hunters. Do you know which city they might have been referring to? It would be too embarrassing for me to ask our leader just after getting lost, but I would appreciate the information.”

“So it would be filled with people trying to take the hunter exam huh? That’s a bit vague. As far as I know the location of those exams are a secret,” he wondered, scouring the map with his eyes before pointing towards a city on the main continent.

“My best guess is Lante. It’s the biggest city in the region and all the important people go there doing their fancy businesses. The Hunter Association must have placed guides there. But you should still ask your leader in my opinion,” he concluded.

“By the way, I hope you are not trying to take that exam. Its not exactly a guarantee for a long life,” he added jokingly with a bit of a laughter.

“Haha, of course not, we are just sightseeing,” said Neferpitou cheerfully. Behind the facade she was infuriated by how this lowly human dared to underestimate her.

“Well, since that’s settled would you like to eat something?” Asked Mikal as he got up and stepped towards his fridge, turning away from Pitou. “We already had dinner, but I could put something together for you.”

“No thanks, I just ate,” mumbled Pitou with a slightly shaking voice. Logically, she shouldn’t kill him now. He proved to be useful and his death would only cause trouble, but logic had little relevance for the grieving royal guard. He just did the worst thing he could do in front of a predator. He showed his back and was couched down while looking through the refrigerator. His unguarded neck was way too inviting, and her instincts were screaming to avenge the kings death. Just thinking about it made her whole body shake with anger. It’s just one insignificant man, perhaps they will think that some wild animal chose him as its prey after they found the mutilated body. Leaning forward a bit, muscles tensed and eyes not even blinking, she prepared to take his head clean off, adding a touch of red to the blank white walls. She was listening to his heartbeat, and the next one will be his last. Just as she was about to take his life a sudden, thumping noise distracted her.

“I told you to go to sleep! Don’t make me go upstairs again,” he shouted, his voice not too strict despite his words before turning towards her and shrugging his shoulders. “Family. The kids love to stay up till late.”

Pitou stared at nothing for a few seconds before giving a half-hearted nod. She had no idea why, but the unnerving dream came back to her mind again. Her murderous intents immediately vanished, only leaving confusion in their place.

“So Nyla, would you like to stay here for the night? We have a spare guest room, and I can take you to the city after breakfast with my car,” he offered.

“Thank you for your kindness, but I must get there as soon as possible. I don’t want to worry my group for too long,” she said rejecting the offer. She didn’t want to stay among humans for longer than necessary considering how she just almost broke her disguise.

“Hop in the car then. I will take you there now,” Mikal told her. ”I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing that I let a girl wander through the night alone anyway.”

The rumbling of the cars engine started to get simply unpleasant rather then annoying as Pitou quickly got used to it. The man kept insisting on giving her a lift, and she gave in. The roads were mostly empty at this hour, allowing them a swift pace. Mikal was chatting with her, but she hardly payed any attention. She was still occupied by the events of their conversation in the kitchen. Had he knew how close he was to certain death he would have jumped out of the car screaming. His family, and a strange dream saved his life. Still, she was glad that she was able to hold herself back. Killing now would only rise unwanted attention. She must learn to control herself better if she were to succeed. Once she deals with the most dangerous members of the human race, and have control over them she will have her fun with the rest. Pitou looked through the windshield between the front seats. The headlights of the car illuminated the road ahead of them, but the wilderness bordering it was lost to the darkness. A straight path with a clear goal ahead, but with many pathways on the sides impossible to make out. The lonely car on the road was getting closer to its destination with each passing second.


	4. Something divine

_Images_ _of something large, straight edges. The smell of wood and plants,_ _colors too blurry. Three creatures a_ _re waiting there,_ _must be humans, features indistinguishable. Sickness and fear. Strange sounds and swift movements, heat. Now the_ _world_ _spins and shifts. It’s Meruem, sitting above a playing board, eyes staring at the pieces deep in thoughts. In front of him kneels Kogumi, making her move after analysing the board carefully. A smile runs through Meruems face as he considers his options. Suddenly, he pours the rest of his pieces onto the board._ _They make_ _quiet_ _clinging_ _noises as they hit the_ _hard surface_ _. He lost again, yet only a wide smile is visible on Meruems face, not that of malice but of satisfaction. Behind them is Shaiapouf, calm with_ _his_ _eyes_ _closed_ _, playing a song masterfully on his violin. Menthuthuyoupi is a little further away, ready to carry out any command his king might bestow upon him. They are all t_ _here_ _, waiting for her to finally join them,_ _with only one question:_

_“Where were you?”_

Neferpitou awoke in her cabin room, wiping away forming tears from her eyes. She knew she wasn’t dreaming anymore because of the pain, both physical and mental that she was all too familiar with by now. The rays of the morning sun found their way into the small, peach yellow cabin through the wide window behind her, flooding it with a dim light. She was lying on the bed that took up most of the space in the room. The bed suited her needs perfectly since she preferred to rest in soft and warm places, just like a human or a cat. In front of her the walls were filled with her own claw marks, the small timber cabinet she moved there barely covered them. In a rush of anger she had to lash out at something, and the walls quietly withstood her furious blows. To her right was a small desk with a single chair. On the desk beside her bag was a mountain of books she borrowed from a library on the ship. Most of the books were about the Hunter Association, she wanted to know everything about them in preparation of her infiltration. On top of them was a first aid kit which she used to threat some of her injuries. The tools were lacking but at least she covered the worst of her wounds, her left shoulder and leg was tightly wrapped in bandages. The floor was covered with a deep blue carpet as if the crew wanted to make sure the passengers always knew that they were indeed on water, a remainder she was not too found of.

A few days ago when she was about to leave the Balsa islands she chose to travel by sea. While a flight was much faster she would have been surrounded by humans in a very small space. Only tragedy could arise from such conditions, both for the humans and more importantly for her. Taking the ship wasted a couple of days, but it offered a separate place, making it easier to avoid the rage and hatred that was swelling inside her ever since she found her king surfacing. The choice proved to be a rewarding one. The constant swaying of the ship made her a bit dizzy, which in turn helped her getting used to the closeness of humans. It damped any desire for hunting or fighting. She also managed to adapt to the human life cycle, being active during the day and sleeping at night, a humiliating but necessary habit in order to fit in. After getting ready she headed out of the cabin with energetic steps. It was time for breakfast.

The dining hall of the cruise ship was a rather large, open area filled to the brink with simple chairs and tables. Practicality was the main focus during the building of such an important area in the limited space. Only a selected few were able to enjoy the view provided by the huge, circular windows placed on its walls. A privilege belonging only to those who where willing to get up the earliest in order to secure their rightful position. A race with such an incomprehensible price evaded Neferpitous attention completely. She was willing to settle for a single seat in the corner of the room. The dining hall was fairly noisy in the mornings, the humans were having conversations during their meal and boiling water was also a common sound. Still, Pitous attention was focused on the plate before her where she placed the results of her most recent hunt.

Most chimera ants didn’t care about the taste of their food. Eating was something done out of necessity not pleasure. Even so, Neferpitou with her ever curious nature couldn’t help but appreciate the wide array of flavors human food offered. Every bite she took was a bit different leaving her in anticipation for the next one. What she was having troubles with was the cutlery. It was cumbersome and annoying, in fact she was so clumsy with it that she even tried to use the wrong end of a fork once. Despite these minor annoyances she had to admit that the preparation of food was one of the few things in which humans were superior to them. Given that, she had to wonder just how humans would season their own meat. The thought of these creatures cooking their own kin was amusing. Would they even be able to accomplish such tasks, not knowing whether or not they would be the next one on the menu? Her mouth curved into a bone chilling smile as she come to a wicked conclusion. After she conquered the Hunters she will definitely run some experiments regarding the matter. Thankfully, she won’t have to wait much longer because the trip was about to come to its end and she will be one step closer in fulfilling the vengeance of her king.

The cruise ship docked in the crowded harbor of Lante a bit past noon. After leaving the ship, the first things greeting Pitou in this new city were the creaks made by the other ships and the scent of freshly caught fish that was being packed from fishing boats to trucks. But her mind was completely focused on the city that was unfolding before her. While she had seen human cities, she had never seen such a vast one before. It was at least multiple times the size of anything the isolated countries she had been had to offer. The land was covered with buildings and other infrastructures as far as even her increased eyesight could see. Buildings that reached for the sky and beyond, monuments of the human ambition, leaving everything else in their shadows. Even the people walking on these never ending streets were different. Everyone seemed to be on the rush to somewhere, too busy to pay attention even to their surroundings, only sharing a swift glance if any at all. They might not notice her even if she were to remove her hat or stick out her tail.

Pouf always told her that she could be distracted too easily. Of course she always tossed aside such talk, but as she was walking along with the masses of people her senses were overwhelmed by all the foreign noises and scents. The air was almost vibrating with the sounds of vehicles struggling to move forward step by step in the heavy traffic, the screaming of a siren in the far distance echoing between the buildings encasing the road, the opening and closing of automated doors releasing a bit of heat from the buildings to the now cold weather. The streets were filled with the glowing and flashing signs of numerous shops. Whenever some sort of public transportation arrived to a nearby stop new mobs of people would flood the roads. It felt like she could explore the area for days and would still find new things she had never seen. Considering that her mission was to find the exam location she gave in to the urge to wander around.

It was already getting dark when she heard some kind of music, and she was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. As she was heading towards its direction she started to approach an older looking building, its classical style stood out from the modern ones neighbouring it. While its size was respectable, the many story high office blocks and skyscrapers still dwarfed it in comparison. It had two large entrances with decorated arches above them, and the large doors and windows on its front were separated by pilasters slightly sticking out from the main body. Above the doors on the white wall was a large sign, already illuminated in the dusk by fixed lamps, reading “Central Theater”. On the front of the building was a large screen promoting the various performances happening inside with a quiet music that led her here.

Pitou couldn’t get her eyes off the screen, she just stood before it, unfazed by the passing of people and time. The dancing of the performers, the melody and the clapping of the audience, the vibrant costumes somehow seemed familiar, and it completely mesmerized her. It was like watching something she forgot about a long time ago, but witnessing it now dredged up memories and feelings from deep inside which she couldn’t understand. The theater before her, like a big ornate church dedicated to an entity, an art she once lived her life for. The movements of the dancers, like a strict, structured ceremony used to praise this long forgotten goddess. It was calling for her and without thinking her body moved on its own, entering the building.

After getting through the entrance, Pitou found herself in a huge hallway. The inside of the theater was just as majestic as the outside, dominated by the colors of red and gold. From the hallway one could enter into four different openings leading to different stages. In the back of the hallway was a wide staircase covered with red carpet that led to the second floor. Despite the background noises she was able to make out an interesting conversation above. Quickly she made her way up the stairs and turned towards the direction of the speakers, two man dressed in suits.

“This is truly a tragedy! I asked every single acquaintance of mine I could think of, but no one can lend us any help. Oh, the shame! We have to cancel the show this instant!” Complained the taller man.

“Pull yourself together Bernot!” Ordered the shorter one with an annoyed look.”No one will notice one missing dancer on the back. If we cancel this now our reputation will be ruined, and I wont let that happen!”

“Maybe I could help you out,” Pitou heard her own voice.

“What? Are you a dancer? Magnificent! You must have been sent by the heavens!” Said Bernot with overflowing joy, his mustache happily pointing towards the sky before grabbing Pitou by the wrist and dragging her along with him. Usually he would pay with his arm for such an act, but somehow it didn’t even occur to her to hurt him at that moment.

“Normally I would test you before allowing you to go on the stage, but this is a crisis. One of the dancers had an accident on her way here and I lost all hope for this play before you showed up! Don’t worry, you will be at the back so you won’t have to perform flawlessly. Of course I still expect you to do your best. The attire you have on right now will be perfect, the play has a modern setting and we don’t have time for you to change anyway,” Bernot told her before starting to explain the story and choreography of the show she volunteered to take a part in as they were walking towards the back stage. Pitou had no idea why but somehow all the terms and examples he used made sense. They arrived to the back stage, just minutes away from the start.

Pitou took her position behind the closed curtains before looking around one more time. There were three rows of dancers with four of them in each column. As promised her place was in the last row, second one on the left. As she looked at the other performers instead of seeing the usual defenseless prey she felt some sort of kinship with them. Time stood still as the beginning drew closer. Nervousness rushed through her, for some reason this performance was so important that even her real goal slipped away from her thoughts. Then, the auditorium fell silent as all lights focused on the stage, and the curtains slowly started to open. In that moment all her concerns and thoughts regarding this newfound passion vanished. Her world narrowed down to the stage, the rhythm of the music and the moves that were sparkling so brightly in her mind now.

She danced without hesitation, her movements were in sync with both the music and the other dancers. It didn’t cause her badly hurt body any pain, in fact she felt better than before ever since she started her lone journey. The performance filled a void in her that was growing day by day. As the play progressed rather than a vengeful royal guard she became an artist making sure that the show their cast provided was as good as possible. The loud clapping they received after the end filled her with almost as much pleasure as successfully serving her king would. The curtains started closing again, signaling that the show was over.

Bernot was more than pleased with her performance. It took a fair bit of her willpower to refuse taking part in more plays. After all, she had an important duty, to kill them all. She was still smiling while leaving the theater. Pouf might have been right about her being easily distracted, but her focus always returned after having a bit of fun.


	5. Manhunt

_I was running for my life. I did not dare to_ _look_ _but it was_ _right_ _behind me, I was sure of it._ _There was_ _nothing but darkness and flames_ _surrounding_ _me. I was sprinting through a burning wreckage, used to be someones home, when it caught up with me. It landed ahead of me with a loud bang, the enormous impact creating a small crater,_ _the_ _earth itself wanted to pull away from touching the_ _abomination_ _._

_Even in its current_ _crouched_ _position it was still taller than any human. It had a wide and well defined chest with broad shoulders, bulking deltoids sticking out to the sides. Its torso grotesquely narrowed down into an impossibly thin waist before widening again to host its monstrous legs, each as wide as the upper body of an adult man, ending in clawed toes on which it rested its weight. Its arms were abnormally long,_ _muscles_ _visibly swollen. One hand, with claws long enough to impale someone was touching the ground while the other was pecking something out of its mouth, wide and packed_ _full of_ _dagger like fangs, something that probably once belonged to a human. Its face was a weird, deformed mixture of human and feline features. Its head was crowned with two large, cat like ears that rather resembled horns and its long white mane was swept back reaching its shoulders while slightly sticking up_ _like quills_ _. Its body was covered with pale plates and a few patches of white fur that was running along its huge tail, dancing like a snake. But the worst part of it was its eyes, as big as a plate and on fire with red and yellowish colors, slit pupils forever searching for its next prey. Right now they were looking straight at me._

_“Are you running from me? Why?”It asked_ _with_ _an inhumanly deep voice, growling out the last part of the sentences.”You don’t want to see my collection?”_

_Not waiting for an answer it stepped to the left, revealing a small wooden box that it_ _was carrying_ _. While staring into my eyes it_ _slowly_ _opened_ _the crate_ _revealing_ _the_ _obscene contents. A severed hand, bone sticking out of it. I recognised my mothers long and elegant fingers. An eyeball, same color as mine, optic nerve still attached to its back. Most likely my brothers._

_“You don’t like it?”Asked the monster almost offended. Then, seeing th_ _at_ _tears started_ _rolling down on my face_ _its mouth moved into something_ _that_ _I assumed was a sickening smile._

_“Oh, don’t_ _be sad now_ _. I will soon reunite your whole family. Isn’t that what you always wanted?”It_ _growled_ _while licking its lips, revealing a barbed tongue.”I wonder, what part of you should I keep? Perhaps you could help me choose.”_

_I wanted to run but I just couldn’t t_ _ake_ _my eyes off it while I was backing away from this fiendish beast. Its head was tilted in an impossible angle similarly to an owl as it was observing me. After realizing my intent of fleeing it started to laugh, the disgusting_ _sound_ _turning my stomach upside down. I felt my legs giving up under me_ _as_ _I_ _tripped over something while I was moving backwards. The laughter became even louder in response to my clumsiness. Then suddenly, with a deafening shriek it jumped high above me, the ground shaking under its colossal might._ _I_ _n the air it adjusted its position to fall headfirst, claws and a gaping mouth pointed at me, the burning_ _gaze_ _in anticipation for the kill. I closed my eyes but still felt its foul, hot breath as it was coming closer and closer._

  
  


* * *

  
  


Neferpitou walked the streets of the big city with growing frustration. For the past days she tried everything she could think off, from simply asking around to eavesdropping in order to gather some information about the hunter exam and its location, without making any progress. Even though she did got payed for the performance she provided during her first night here she started running out of money too due to having to pay for a hotel room, food, and other necessities. A royal guard having financial issues was rather ironic. She could always just take more from human homes, getting in unnoticed was easy enough, but the thought of wasting time on it frustrated her even further. It was around noon with the sun at the peak of its arc when she entered a bar. Another place full of people eager to talk where she might finally find something.

After entering the building her eyes swiftly explored its inside, sizing up the other guests. There were only five groups around, not surprising considering that the evening was still far away, sitting behind round tables drinking soft drinks or a mug of beer. The bar counter was on the right side with two bartenders working behind it and a row of empty bar stools in front. Pitou took seat in one of them and ordered a glass of water, she was not too keen on finding out how her different physiology would react to human beverages. After taking a sip from it she took a better look at the others, searching for someone who could be a hunter applicant. They looked weak and ordinary, but she started listening to their conversation for a while nonetheless. Hobbies, relationships and stories from their life, just the usual dull topics every one of them seemed to talk about. Disappointed, she signaled to one of the bartenders so she could pay and leave. While she was fishing out some coins from her pocket it was easy to tell that she had trouble finding the right amount.

“Down on cash, eh?” Asked the bartender before her.

“Hmmm?” She hummed in surprise at the remark as she looked up at the tall man. He must have been around thirty with short dark hair and sideburns. There was an impish shine in his eyes, looking at her behind slim glasses. He was wearing a white shirt with red vest and dark pants, the uniform of this bar, but he was leaning on the counter like he owned the place.”I guess you could say so.”

“How about a deal? That one will be on the house and all you have to do is listen to a simple offer,” stated the man with a small smile on his face.

“All right then, go on,” answered Pitou with curiosity.

“Allow me to introduce myself first. You can call me Marnin,” he said before continuing.”I noticed the way you walk, the way you observe others. Correct me if I’m wrong, but you are someone who can take care of things, right?”

Taking Neferpitous silence as a yes Marnin continued with his offer.

“You see, there was a bit of a tragedy in my family recently. My sister married a man who I disapproved of greatly. Now don’t get the wrong idea, I’m not the type of guy who thinks his sister is a princess and no one deserves her,” he added quickly.”But this man is an alcoholic who used to be a pro boxer. An unfortunate combination.”

“Long story short they got into a quarrel while he was drunk and the bastard broke my dear sisters nose. I told her to call the police but she refused. I’m, on the other hand, not that forgiving. This is where you come into the picture,” he pointed at Pitou.”I want you to convince him for a little visit if you catch my drift. Don’t use weapons or injure him seriously though. I just want a good old fashioned talk with him face to face. I will pay you generously for your efforts. Are you in?” Asked Marnin while looking Pitou in the eyes.

“I think I’ll pass,” said Pitou while beginning to stand up. Going on an errand for a human just to get some money seemed like a huge waste of time.

“Not interested in money? I can respect that. Not quiet understand, but respect nonetheless. Just for that how about I sweeten the deal with something else?” Questioned Marnin before Pitou could get up.” Folk like you are usually here around this time of the year for the Hunter exam. I could help with that. I have a few friends in high places, I bet they have some information about it. So how about it, money and information for a small favor?”

“Nyaow this sounds more interesting,” approved Pitou.”So, where can I find this man?”

“That would be a part of your job. Here, take this picture of him,” he clarified while giving her a picture of a human with a rigid face, a small scar above his left eyebrow and a military cut.”You can find his address on the backside, but he hasn’t been there since the incident, I’m sure of it. Oh, and the second address is mine, if you manage to track him down you can find me there and bring him too.”

“You were quiet sure I was going to accept your offer, weren’t you?”Asked Pitou while looking at the hand written addresses.

“Well, what can I say? I usually have my way with others,” he asserted, trying to sound innocent.

“Certainly seems so,” Pitou muttered. Accepting requests from a human was a new low for her, but she could not afford to let this opportunity go to waste.”See you later then.”

“Have a good hunt,” he said as he bid farewell.

Finding the apartment house was simple enough, it was one of the smaller ones, only six stories high, its bright yellow and orange exterior trying to cheer up its residents after arriving from a long day of work. There were small balconies on the front, each belonging to a residence, some decorated with flowers which made it all the easier for Pitou to locate the one she was looking for. After finding the right one she went to the back alley of the building. Not a single soul was there, besides probably some rodents preying on the trash containers. Pitous eyes were still on the part of the building where she wanted to get in. After looking around to make sure no one was there she removed her gloves revealing razor sharp claws. With a single stab she sank them deep into the brick walls of the building. Within an eye blink she was already hanging in front of the back window that would take her into the home of the man she was hunting. She crashed through the window, jagged glass pieces harmlessly glancing off her impenetrable skin, landing gracefully on her feet.

  
  


First she noticed the lime colored walls and the scent of cleaning supplies mixed with a strong deodorant. Dashing through the apartment confirmed Marnins words about it being empty. She also noticed that everything was clean and kept in a strict order. Sniffing for the scent of the deodorant she tried to search for places where he spent most of his time. One trail led her to an office room with a cabinet and a computer screen placed on a big desk. The cabinet was filled with documents, mostly contracts with companies or persons she knew nothing about, but it didn’t sound like they were about boxing from what little she could make out of the heavily formal language. Just like with the mobile phones she intuitively figured out how to use the computer. She was hoping that he had something on it about his whereabouts but she was greeted with a login screen requiring a password. A dead end. Sniffing again her nose led her to the kitchen this time, with various equipment and a kitchen table. While she noted the lack of fresh food, and a row of hunting knifes that was placed over the counter nothing there made her pursuit easier. Once again sniffing she found herself in what seemed to be the living room with a cozy looking black couch that had a table in front of it, a few stands and a row of cabinets placed against the walls containing a variety of books. So he liked reading. Grabbing a bunch of books from one of the cabinets she started to swiftly read through them after making herself comfortable on the couch. They were mostly about war stories, tactics, big encyclopedias on human weapons with a few odd ones about romance and thrillers. While reading about human warfare was mildly interesting this did not help her case at all, although it did give her an idea.

She went back to the office room and typed in the name of the author he had the most books from. After a few seconds of waiting the computer gave her back the invalid password message. She let out a sigh. This would have been too easy. It took her a few dozen of tries before the computer finally loaded up the home screen. The password was a part of the authors name followed by a number. She found an autograph in one of the books with a date and combining the two led her to success. While she never really had the chance to operate a computer before she already used it like it was second nature. Browsing through its contents she found some documents along with several programs but nothing too useful. While checking out some sites he visited frequently, she finally found something she could work with. On one of the social media sites he was signed in she found someone, a friend of his with who he chatted a lot. This man could probably help her out and there was even an event he registered for tonight in a local nightclub. Satisfied, she left the building as swiftly as she entered.

Locating the nightclub was even easier then the previous site, it was rather noisy, she was sure she would have found it even without the address. Upon entering she found herself in a place full of loud music and blinding lights. A large crowd of humans were dancing in the center, their dance wild and disorganized lacking any elegance she might have admired. Looking past them she saw a smaller group of people in a separated, less crowded part of the building playing darts. In a straight line she started walking towards them, eyes fixed on her goal. A few humans who were already drunk bumped into her, making her flinch. While she easily shoved them aside holding back the urge to kill them on the spot was much harder. Reaching her destination she spotted the one she was looking for. A big, bald man wearing a black tank top was sitting alone behind a table with an untouched glass of whisky in front of him, the ice already melted. He was watching the darts game with clear focus, most likely shooting for the first place in this tournament. Without a word Pitou took the opposite seat facing the man.

“Sorry lass, not looking for company,” he said with a surprised look.

“I’m just hoping you could help me find someone,” clarified Pitou, showing him the picture she got.”You know him right?”

“Yeah, that’s my bud Derek. We started working for a private military company the same year. Basically something like mercenaries if you don’t like the big words. Had my back in tough situations. Why are you looking for him?” He asked.

“I just want to talk with him,” Pitou said with an innocent smile.

“If he really wanted to see you he would have told you where to find him. Now that I think about it he did mention that some creeps might be looking for him and my guts tell me not to trust you. You’re getting nothing out of me so buzz off,” He grumbled, lifting up his glass for a small sip.

“That’s a shame. Maybe I should ask your wife next. Or perhaps your kids,” Neferpitou hinted, keeping up the innocent smile. She remembered the pictures of them she saw on that site.

“You have five seconds to convince me not to mop the floor with your face,” snarled the bald man.

“You could try, but then again searching for them alone isn’t as much fun now is it? Especially if you don’t know where to look,” implied Pitou with an even wider smile. She wished that she could just probe the information directly out of his brain like she once did back in the nest. Talking to this worm was tiring.

“What did you do with them?” He raged loudly as he stood up, both of his hands pressed hard against the table.

“I asked first so you have to answer my question. After that, I’ll answer yours,” she said, playfully waving an index finger in front of him.

The soldier carefully weighed his options. If this psycho really had his family hostage then he must take action. Lying or playing tough was too much of a risk right now. He had to take control of the situation.

“Let’s continue this somewhere private,” he suggested.

The man led her to a couple of doors at the corner of the building. Opening one of them revealed a small room lightly furnished with a table and a couple of couches, used to hold private parties. As she turned back to close the door she heard a dull noise from behind.

The moment he was waiting for has come. The woman turned back to close the door, loosing sight of him. A rookie mistake. He always took threats seriously, especially ones involving his family. Soon she will learn that the hard way too. He rose his fist and aimed it at her head with moderate force. After all his goal was not to kill, just to frighten her. A loud crack and the following sharp pain cut his thoughts short. He watched in disbelief as he was thrown across the room, all air escaping his lungs. He landed with his back on the hard floor, probably with a few cracked ribs. He looked up at his attacker whose fist was still in the air. He didn’t even see her turn around or launch the hit.

“Nyaow you starting to annoy me. I can make you talk whether you want to or not,” Pitou said as she took a few steps towards the bald man.”You will die though. I would appreciate it if you saved me the trouble, but in the end it matters little to me. Do you understand?”

The mercenary nodded with a gulp. Her voice was casual, as if she was just talking about the weather. He had seen this before on the field, people to whom killing was just as natural as breathing. He was looking at a true monster and she would do everything she promised, there was no doubt about it.

“Damn you,” he fumed, his forehead beginning to sweat.”There is a weapon shop with a shooting range not too far from here. Go down the street, cross the main road and you should be able to see it on the right side. The owner is our friend and he lets Derek stay there if he is in a tight spot. He is probably shooting some guns there right now to relax.”

There was a minute of heavy silence. Merciless red eyes stared right at him, observing him from head to toe. Fear struck into him like an icy blade someone thrust into his hearth, and twisted it.

“I believe you,” she happily announced with a childish smile.”See, that wasn’t so hard was it?”

“WAIT, where are they?” the man cried out when she placed her hand on the door knob.

“What!?” she turned her head in a mixture of irritation and confusion.

“My family! Where are they?” Asked the man again with great concern.

“I don’t know, probably where you left them,” mocked Pitou.

“If you just as much as,” the bald man began his threat but stopped in the middle as he felt chills running down on his spine. Right before his eyes Neferpitous pupils shank into narrow lines. Her smile widened into a ravenous grin, baring her inhumanly large, animalistic canines.

“If you dare to warn him I might just show you what I can do when I’m really annoyed,” she said in a calm, commanding voice before disappearing in the crowd, leaving the momentarily stunned man behind.

Following the directions she was given Neferpitou was standing in front of a store displaying a wide array of guns. Walking along its side she jumped above the fence that separated it from the street, unseen in the poorly lit night. Landing on the other side she already knew that the long building behind the store was the range. She felt the familiar scent of that deodorant she smelled before.

The shooting range was a narrow but long building. At the end of it was a row of tables and some targets. Before one of the tables stood Derek in a camo shirt, with a few rifles and an ear muffle in front of him.

“Found you,” cheered Neferpitou in the entrance blocking the only exit, her slim figure casting long shadows on the walls.

“Yeah, and who the hell are you?” He asked as he turned around to face her. He was rather large, almost two meters high with a hulking frame. His physique and simple answer reminded Pitou of Youpi.

Not even bothering with an answer she slowly walked towards him, her steps ominously echoing from the nearby walls. A single human, no matter how big was no match for the royal guard even in her current, badly beaten up condition.

“Are you here to brawl? Where are your teammates?” Asked the large man, clearly not impressed.

“Don’t worry, its just me you’ll have to entertain,” assured Pitou.

“You actually had the nerve to come alone? You’ve got more guts than the others before, I’ll give you that! If you turn back right now I will even let you leave,” offered Derek.

“Thanks, but I’m not planning to let you leave,” declined Pitou, now getting close to him, her left hand behind her back.

“Heh, fine then. Let’s see what you’ve got,” he said while assuming a combat position with a high guard and a narrow stance.

He started with a simple right jab aimed towards Pitous face. She dodged it leaning to her right, barely avoiding the hit. While she could have let the punch connect without suffering any damage, or quicken her movements enough to get behind him by the time his fist stopped she wanted to toy with him for a bit, give him some hope. It was ages since her last fight and she wanted to enjoy this one, even if her opponent was unworthy. Derek raised his left leg, trying to bury his knee in her stomach. Pitou pushed herself into the air, arching her back as she flew above the knee strike, landing on the left side of her opponent. Derek retaliated with a flurry of blows. After dodging a few hooks she crouched down avoiding a roundhouse kick before jumping over a low wheel kick. Derek followed her movements breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath after the heavy effort.

“Is that all? Need a break?” Pitou asked mockingly with her left arm still behind her back. She hasn’t moved it since the beginning of the fight.

Growling, Derek rushed towards her with arms wide open. He wanted to force a grapple, thinking that he could overpower her if she had no space to dodge. He was clearly mistaken, but that would make his hopeless situation too obvious. Jumping before he reached her, Pitou placed her right hand on his shoulder and used him as support to raise her whole body into the air, vertically to the ground before pushing on it. Twisting her body mid air she landed behind him. Her push made him stumble forward a bit, which earned a chuckle from her. Now angry, Derek pulled out a big knife from the sheath on his side.

“I’m done playing around. Leave or things will get messy,” he said, pointing the knife towards Pitou.

After the warning he stepped forward and stabbed towards Pitous left shoulder. She caught the blade with just two fingers, and pulled the weapon towards herself. Her pull made the surprised man who was still holding onto the knife stagger forward, headfirst into her elbow. Neferpitou coldly watched as the large man fell on the floor, laying on his back motionlessly. She forgot just how frail humans were, even the momentum from that pull was enough to knock him out.

She picked up the knife Derek dropped since she saw something interesting on it. Taking a closer look at it almost made her laugh. The blade was so dull it wouldn’t even pierce a normal human let alone her. His knife was just a well shaped metal rod. She squeezed it and the thing snapped in two under the huge pressure. Pitou now focused all her attention on the body. This man was a professional soldier of his kind yet defeating him was child’s play. How could a race so disgusting and pathetic ruin the perfection that was Meruem? Why would they struggle against the absolute ruler when it was right in front of them? No matter how tall their buildings are they will never reach the heights Meruem would have brought to this world. But they tore down any hope for a flawless hegemony just to continue their chaotic and miserable existence. She hated them almost as much as she hated herself for her ultimate failure.

Pitou started to lose her composure due to the almost maddening anger she felt. Her eyes became wet and malicious red aura started slipping out of her body, like steam from a bucket full of hot water someone left out in the cold. She crouched down beside Derek and put two fingers on his neck searching for a pulse. After she found it, rather then removing her fingers she now had her whole hand around his neck. Sinister flames were flickering in her eyes as she began tightening her grasp. The sounds of the suffocating man desperately grasping for air made her giggle. Humans were so funny when they were about to die! She could have so much fun with this one! Flayed alive he might actually look like Youpi, stripped down to his red flesh. Pitou took a deep breath and released his neck. Clear thinking triumphed over her killer instincts, something she found surprisingly easy to do lately. A single life for the whole Hunter Association was a trade she couldn’t refuse. She grabbed Derek and effortlessly lifted him up before dragging him along with her.

Marnin was enjoying a good wine while watching horse racing on the TV from the comfort of his couch. He was not particularly interested in the sport itself, but the bet he made was more then worthy of his attention. So far, everything went according to the info he got from a few friends. A sudden knocking on the front door disturbed his peace. He got up slightly irritated and went ahead to open it, although he didn’t remember inviting anyone. To his biggest surprise the woman he spoke with earlier at the bar was standing on the other side, with Derek on the floor before her. She was not supposed to be able to actually defeat him. He was a battle hardened veteran who was well versed in close combat. A whole gang of thugs would be screwed against that guy. He should have been the one to judge her courage and performance with intimidation and a bit of a fight before telling her the outcome.

“What, you actually did it? Err...I mean nice job,” he mumbled.

“You look awfully surprised. Hmmm...” Pitou said narrowing her eyes. “The mercenary who was expecting me, the toy weapons and the fact that I was not the first one to go after him… Nyaow I see. You were testing me right? You are a guide to the hunter exam!”

“Seems like the jig is up. Yeah, you are correct,” Marnin confirmed, ignoring the strange accent.

“So? Did I pass?” Asked Pitou excitedly.

“With flying colors,” Answered Marnin with a sly smile. He is going to take this one straight to the exam location. Anyone who can take down that guy alone is pretty much already a hunter anyway. A deal is a deal, so now he will have to pay the agreed amount, but the Hunter Association will reward him greatly. They always pay well for those who find an applicant that makes it through the whole exam. It was a win-win situation for him. Of course there is a possibility hat she will fail, but just like in the horse race he was willing to bet on the strong ones. If anything, that just made it more interesting.

“So, what’s your bank account? I will transfer your prize money there,” he asked.

“Eh? Bank account?” Pitou repeated while quickly blinking.

“You are kidding right? How can you function without one? Do you seriously expect me to pay that much in cash?” Marnin frowned, not believing his ears. Looking at her now she was staring at him like how those lions at the zoo stared at the visitors with weird red and yellow eyes under white bangs. Her smile, while not exactly threatening, was getting creepy considering the giant laying before her feet. This was not someone he wanted to be in debt with.

“Fine, tell you what. Be here in the morning and I’ll help you make one so I can pay, it won’t take too long. After that, I’ll show you the exact location of the exam and what to say to get in. They lend out free rooms for those arriving early, so you can wait it out there," Offered Marnin generously.

“Sounds good to me! Have a good night!” Pitou said as she turned away to leave.

“Yeah yeah, good night,”Marnin replied as he watched Neferpitou walk away while happily humming to herself. Something was clearly off about her. Whatever, it’s not his problem but he definitely didn’t envy the applicants of this year.

Looking back at his hired muscle he wondered what to do with him. He should at least get him inside. If that girl was able to carry him all this way then surely he should be able to make it past the door. He grabbed both his hands and started pulling to no avail. This will be a long night.


	6. A forced pair

The day of the Hunter exam has finally come. All the participants were gathering in a large room, faces full of hopes and dreams. The space was big enough to contain the numerous applicants, a red line on the floor marked the border of their territory. Behind this line was a small platform and two doors, one red and one green.

Neferpitou was leaning against the cold wall of the room, close to the line with crossed arms. As someone who had already been there at the start she was able to take a good look at nearly all of the other participants, and she wasn’t impressed at all. From what she has learned this was supposed to be one of the hardest tests a human can take and only the strongest could complete. Despite this, most of them couldn’t even control their nen, and the ones that could had laughably weak auras. Only a handful of them were interesting and strong enough to be worthy of a second look. Still, she was excited. After she gets over with this she can finally start the fun part of her plan.

As time went on even more people poured out of the elevators that led to the room, forming long lines and making the air sparse. Like pigs in front of a slaughterhouse, waiting to be butchered. Everyone was wearing a badge with numbers on them, something that was apparently required in order to take the exam. Neferpitou looked at her own one, which had the number 72 on it. When she glanced back at the small stage behind the red line she finally noticed some movement.

“Ladies and gentlemen! I am hereby here to announce that the wait is finally over, this years hunter exam has officially begun!” Shouted the lanky man who was now standing on the platform, looking down on the crowd. He wore overdecorated, vibrant clothes and a white coat with fur collar over them.”You are about to take the most difficult, magnificent exam there is. From now on you have to accept that taking this exam may end in the loss of a body part, or even with your unfortunate demise. To anyone who managed to get this far without acknowledging these risks please leave now the same way you entered, because this is your last chance to do so.”

Not a single one of them left. After a brief wait the man continued.

“All right, that’s the spirit! For the first phase your examiner will be none other than me, the great Tivon! These lovely doors that you see behind me will lead you to the exam site where you will be tested not only individually, but also as a party. That’s right! For this years exam you will have to form a team with two to five members. Choose your partners wisely, the whole exam is depending on it!” Tivon announced.”You are not automatically disqualified if you tragically lose a member, but if you can’t continue the exam because you lack the numbers to do so, then the whole team is out. Now, please form your teams so we can continue.”

Pitous jaw almost dropped. What cruel joke is this? According to that simpleton she now not only has to team up with one of this pathetic things, but she could also fail the exam because of the human. Even so, she must play along. As the only royal guard left she can’t fail her king, not again! She must choose someone who won’t slow her down too much. Pitou looked around nervously, others were already wandering around and talking with each other. All of them looked so weak, how could she partner up with one of these?

“Hey, want to form a group?”Asked a voice behind her. She turned around to see a young man, his eyes dark and hard to read, the lights above casting shadows on his features. He was standing casually with his hands in the pockets of his black cargo pant, but he stuck out his chest in a confident manner. He was wearing a dark green jacket, on his belt in a sheath was a single hunting knife.

The faint glow of aura around him didn’t escape her attention. So he was at least one of the rare ones. But why would he want to pair up with her? This man couldn’t possibly see her aura, she made sure of that. Pitou forced herself into a constant state of zetsu in order to hide. Of course a nen user could tell that she was hiding something since her aura was completely gone, but that was still better than them sensing her inhuman, far stronger aura. To notice that absence in a large crowd like this would require a good deal of experience or talent. This one might not be too bad after all.

“Sure,” Pitou replied with a smirk.”You can call me Nyla. What’s your name?”

“Call me however you want, it doesn’t matter,” the man answered before looking back at the stage.

His words made Neferpitou curious. He almost sounded offended. Most humans loved to talk, what was his deal? Of course in the end it really isn’t important, just as he said.

“Those of you who already have your teams set up please step forward and enter one of the doors. You must split up your group so that at least one person enters each door. As soon as you enter you will find yourself on a long corridor. These are actually concrete tubes used in building underground lines, but we added a few wonderful surprises for the exam. Once you are in a mechanism will move that tube away to make room for the next, so everyone can enter and we won’t have to wait days for this to be over.” Tivon explained.”This also means that once you enter you can’t go back. Now my dear applicants please choose your doors and start the adventure of your life!” He finished his speech while theatrically pointing towards said doors.

Three wacky group went ahead of them before it was finally their turn to go. Without a word she and her partner separated, Pitou opening the red door while the man entering the other one. As she stepped through the door she found herself surrounded closely by walls, her world narrowing down into a straight line. Soon the tight corridor widened into a larger room with a heavy stone gate on its other side. The floor before her was covered with tiles, just about big enough for someone to stand on them. She counted six tiles in each row and seven in each column. On the tiles were strange markings, hardly resembling anything. Above each tile on the ceiling were light bulbs emitting different shades of green and red, painting the room in a mess of colors.

It was obviously some sort of test meant to be solved, but she had no intention of playing the games of humans. After a leap she was already clinging beside the gate, the claw like nails on her left hand buried deep into the wall. She raised her right arm with hand clenched into a fist, veins popping up on it as she prepared to destroy the obstacle that was blocking her path in a single blow.

“Well? See something?” She heard a voice from the other side. Right, she might need that human later and he probably can’t just smash through a gate like this. With an annoyed sigh Pitou jumped back to where she was moments ago. If everything else fails she can still just demolish both the gate and the wall separating them, although showing off that much power might be risky here.

“I’m in a room with a grid of tiles. There are markings on them, and colored lights above each one,” described Pitou.

“I have a table with a grid on it and colored cubes that fit into the grids. You up for color matching?” he asked.

“But they are all just green and red….” Pitou muttered more to herself than anyone else.

The task was very simple but not easy. A trial meant to test their synergy, as differentiating colors so close to each other and explaining that difference to someone else is going to require a good deal of communication and teamwork. There was also the slight problem that she was not exactly sure she perceived colors the same way humans did. They had exactly 42 shades of red and green to work with and Pitou was at a loss on where to start.

“Hmm...I think I remember the colors of your jacket pretty well, and I see them here too,” said Pitou before telling him where they were.”There is also one that looks just like my eyes. Do you think you can find that?”She continued, and gave the location after her partners confirmation.

“There are shades of green that almost look white or grey. Can you tell me where are those? They are pretty hard to miss,” the man said and Pitou did her best to fulfill his request.

With the simple ones out of the way it took them a good while to match the rest. They used objects and plants to describe the remaining shades. A shade of green resembling that of a pickle, another one looking like olive next to mint. A red that looked like the bricks she saw when she sunk her claws into the walls of buildings, one that looked like the layer of rust on abandoned containers. The last ones were the hardest, they could only rely on the previous colors to describe them, comparing them in tone. To Pitou surprise their cooperation worked out rather well. After the last color she heard the voice of her teammate:

“Okay, got it. A monitor in front of me turned on and it shows markings ordered by numbers. The first one looks like the number 5, but the top part is a bit lower and in the middle, like a weird cross” he explained.

Following his words Pitou found the mark. Carefully she placed one leg on it and then fully stepped on the tile.

“Nothing happened… maybe it will activate something at the end,” she told the man. It was possible that they made a mistake and now following a bad trail, but her patience was at its end. Figuring out those colors took a lot of time and she had enough. If the doors refuse to open she will destroy them.

Continuing on the spiraling path that was described to her she stepped on 11 tiles by the time she reached the sixth row.

“The last one is just a circle,” said the man.

When Pitou stepped on the tile it suddenly fell down, leaving her foot nothing to stand on. She let out a surprised yell as she was flailing around, trying to regain her balance. Her quick reflexes saved her from the fall, but even she had a hard time recovering from it. The dark hole that was now in front of her looked ominous, threatening her with an uncertain end, a fate no simple human could have escaped. Instinctively her tail slipped out of her pants, helping her to shift as much of her weight back as possible. After a bit of struggle she finally managed to fell back, sitting on the ground in the safety of the previous tile.

“That was definitely not it!” Complained Pitou.

“My bad, I didn’t notice but it also has a dot in the middle of it,” answered her teammate.

Pitou was much more careful this time, but the choice was the correct one. After a loud crack the large door opened on both sides.

Unlike the previous room the one behind the doors was anything but quiet. The dimly lit chamber had thick walls, making any sort of communication between the teams impossible. She was unable to hear or see the human who was surely on the other side, in a similar place. What she was able to hear was the wild barking and growling. At the end of the room were two seperate exits, both blocked by heavy steel bars. One was empty, but behind the bars of the other one were four hounds following her every move, eyes full of hunger and primal rage staring at the intruder. These were no ordinary dogs, their massive size and disproportional build suggested a heritage of some kind of magical beast. Even on four legs they were almost as tall as Pitou herself, their powerful frame packed with muscles under thick black fur. Gritting their fearsome teeth that barely fit into their mouth they were impatiently walking along the bars, looking for any openings.

Nearby on the wall was a simple panel with a timer and one button. Above it was a written message containing the following:

“The timer will start counting in five minutes after the last member enters this room and the gates are closed. During the countdown a blue light above the button will flesh up a few times in random intervals. If the button is pressed when the light is up the safe exit will open here, but the bars holding back the guard dogs will open in the other room. If the button in the other room is pressed the dogs here will be released. If both of the buttons are pressed at the same time only the safe exits will open. If no buttons are pressed the hounds will be released in both rooms at the end of the countdown.”

A task that gave the fate of their teammates in their hands. What will the person on the other side do? Pressing the button as soon as the first flash appears might seem obvious, but what if the other one was more protective in nature and wanted to wait for the last one? What if they were too slow and missed the first flash? Will they press for the second one?

For Neferpitou these problems had a rather easy solution. As strange as it might sound she had to protect that human for now. After removing her jacket and gloves she flexed her now free hands while silently facing the caged beasts, her claws ready for their intended use. Not before long she saw a yellow light flashing from the corner of her eyes. So the light also had different colors. It might make the decision harder for others but for her this changed nothing. As the counter went on with its loud ticking the animals before her grew increasingly impatient, saliva dripping from their violently shaking jaws. Finally the bars dropped down and the large canines immediately darted forward, their clawed feet grinding against the concrete floor.

Three of them attacked head on, their movements in union with each other, a hunting group trying to overwhelm the cornered prey from every direction. After a huge leap the closest one was flying towards her, aiming for her throat. There were no tricks and bluffs, no testing for the other ones strength. Every attack they made intended to end the fight as quickly as possible. Pitou retaliated in a similar fashion. Faster than the eye can see she was already under the leaping hound, impaling its side with merciless claws. With a forward step she continued the slash, disemboweling the unfortunate animal while it was still in the air behind her. The now dead animal went on with its last flight, leaving a trail of blood and gore behind. A muffled thump signaled its end as its lifeless body clashed into the wall. Its efforts were not in vain, the second dog managed to bite into Pitou, its jaw snapping on her bare forearm as it started to tear on it. The strength of the large beast was remarkable, any human in the same position would have lost a limb to the deadly lock. But this time it didn’t feel the familiar taste of blood. Its pointy teeth failed to pierce Pitous unnaturally durable skin or crush the bone. No simple animal, no matter how powerful could ever hope to harm a royal guard. Pitou lifted up her arm alongside with the dog that was still clinging into it, and smashed both into the ground with dreadful force, cracking the concrete beneath. Bones snapped with a sickening sound and after a few pitiful yowls the dog was dead, its insides utterly crushed as if it was hit by a truck. Pitou let out a painful groan as the third one chomped on her left leg while she was freeing her arm. The bite itself was nothing more than a little nuisance but her left side, especially her leg was still very sensitive from all the damage it sustained before. The sudden, violent force made all those wounds fire up and ache more intensely. Claws flashed and her left hand swiftly stabbed the canine behind its skull, talons tearing through muscle and flesh like it was wet paper. Even with its spinal cord severed the animal still held its grip for a second, a testimony to its ferocious nature.

With that, three of the four dogs were dead in what was no more than a few blinks of an eye. The remaining one was the largest of them all, the pack leader without a doubt. There were no signs of fear in it, the freshly drawn blood sent it into a murderous frenzy, hot breath steaming out of its maw. Pitou crouched down, tail wildly wriggling behind her, meeting the gaze of the beast with wide eyes. Even the air seemed to get more stiff between them as they stared at each other, two apex predator waiting for the other one to make a move. Both of them leapt at the same time but it was Pitou who struck first. Her hand sliced through the air aimed precisely at the head of the canine in an attempt to cut it in half. The strike reached the spot where the target should have been, but her claws went through it without meeting any resistance. So they had some tricks after all! The air they breathed out when they were fighting was toxic, usually rendering their prey unconscious or trembling helplessly. While these effects were lessened on Pitou, fighting four of them in a small, closed space exposed her to a huge doze. As such, she hallucinated the hound slightly before the real one, missing it just by a thread. The hybrid dog had experience fighting against dazed opponents, it was the alpha of the group for a reason. Catching Pitou off-guard it clashed into her. The surprised Pitou fell on her back while the hound was already on top of her. Snapping its jaws fiercely it reached for her throat. With unmatched dexterity Pitou grabbed its head from both sides, holding it just above her neck and started crushing it. The dog didn’t feel any pain, even in its last moments it was fighting the hold, eagerly going for the kill.

After Pitou felt the skull shatter between her hands she pushed the dead animal aside from atop of her and stood up. She adored fighting, even this short and uneven bloodshed should have left her in a merry mood, but instead of happiness or satisfaction she just felt miserable, perhaps even guilty. As she looked back at the now dead beasts she couldn’t stop drawing strange conclusions. All she saw was three creatures trying to protect their leader, giving it everything they got even in the face of a threat they couldn’t overcome, not afraid to give up their lives if necessary. It was something she understood, and something she now had to brutally end herself. To distract herself from the gloomy thoughts she forced her attention towards her clothes. Any damage in them could be just as lethal as an actual injury. Her shirt was clean, but the bite on her leg left a few holes in the trousers. Fortunately it was on her thigh, so the knees were still covered. With jaded motions she put back the rest of her clothing and left the painfully silent room.

The door that was now free of bars and guard dogs led her into a large, circular chamber. This place had no exits nor a ceiling, instead she could see the almost setting sun, its fading rays descending into the room from the hole above to paint it with a tame light. In the middle there were two huge pillars, spinning in a slow pace. They were made out of some kind of metal, and bulges were sticking out of their otherwise smooth surface in various shapes. They were at least a few stories high, their top reaching above the edge of the hole that served as roof, making them the only way to leave this underground tunnel. She was in a deep pit, and had to climb her way out. The human she had to team up with was also surveying the room in a similar fashion. Their separate ways united here.

“I hope you are good at climbing,” peeped Pitou while stepping towards one of the pillars, curiously observing its surface. Aside from the climbing appendages it was completely flat, and even those seemed to disappear after a certain point.

“After you,” came the answer.

Pitou grabbed one of the boulders on the pillar and started to make her way towards the top. As she was spinning along with it she saw her teammate climbing the other one. The higher they got the more scarce the boulders became, making it increasingly difficult to climb the moving surface. After reaching the point where they disappeared she started to wonder how she could use her claws without blowing the disguise. She watched the man on the other pillar climbing towards a similar stalemate. When he grabbed one of the last boulders Pitou noticed it slightly sink in. Immediately she heard a clicking sound and there was a sudden, faint trace of gas in the air. She instinctively lowered herself, just in time to see raging flames scorching the place where her head was a second ago, the fire so close that she felt its heat.

“Hey, watch it!” She frowned on him.

“Watch what? They look exactly the same, and I ran out of them too,” he pointed out

“That’s right. Hmm… nyaow I have an idea! You might want to brace yourself for a bit,” she advised.

Before he could complain she was already climbing back and pressing on some of the boulders, testing the ones she left untouched while passing through. After she felt one of them move under her hand she heard a loud bang. The boulders on the other pillar shifted, disappearing under the man, but more came out of the surface ahead of him. Now he couldn’t climb back down but his way to the top was clear. Following her example he climbed up a bit on the new boulders and pressed on them until he found the right one. They both continued their way to the top hoping that they already dealt with the all the traps.

This hope proved to be short lived when Pitou felt one of the appendages she grabbed move a bit. With a surprised yell her teammate was falling towards the ground as a slippery substance engulfed the bump he was grasping. They were fairly high above now, hitting the ground would surely break some of his bones if not outright kill him. As entertaining as that might have been Neferpitou could not afford to let it happen. With a kick she propelled herself towards him, nimbly catching his hand while breaking their fall with one of the last boulders on the pillar.

“...Thanks,” he said reluctantly before taking hold on the pillar and releasing her hand, but instead of the one he fell from he was now clinging to the same one Pitou was climbing on, slightly below her.

“The traps activate something only on the other pole. I didn’t want to risk a jump but now that it happened we might as well climb on the same one.” he explained.

She agreed with a nod and once more they started to climb. Nothing interrupted their way upwards this time. Not before long Pitou finally reached the end of their ascend and pulled herself up to the top of the tall pedestal. As she stood up to take take a quick look around she saw that the sun was now setting, its last reddish rays revealing a large field before her. There were many holes in the ground just like the one she climbed out of, lined up in a row. Some of them had people getting out of them, like larvae crawling out of the earth. A little ahead of them was the hunter who greeted them. Just like before there was a crowd in front of him, albeit much smaller, and instead of doors he now had a long train behind him. With a small jump Pitou landed on the field and headed towards the group, her teammate following behind.

“Allow me to applaud all of you, because anyone present here has successfully completed the first phase of the exam!” Tivon said giving them a short clap.”You are going to be transported to the location of the second phase by this lovely train. The Association provided provisions which you will find in every cabin. It’s going to take about ten hours to reach your destination, so you will have time to rest before the second phase too!”

“I’m afraid I must bid farewell for now. It was truly an honor to be your examiner!”Added Tivon with an exaggerated bow.”I wish you a wonderful travel, and the best of luck.”

With that his speech was over, and the remaining applicants started to board the train, its silver painting almost shining in the setting sun as it was getting ready to take them to their next dangerous stop.


	7. From the waves

The train that was carrying the hunter applicants raced through the night, a silvery flash in the ever changing landscape. The speed made its cars a bit jerky, but hardly anyone even noticed it. All of them were either already sleeping or preparing for a rest to gather some strength for the next day. Everyone, except Neferpitou.

She was bored out of her mind. The small cabin she was in didn’t offer much in terms of entertainment. The window she was staring out of showed nothing but the night, the stars were hiding behind dark clouds. She was sitting on one of the long seats that also doubled as their bed, with a few pillows and a blanket on its end. The other one was already in use, her teammate almost immediately went to sleep after they boarded the train. The two beds were divided by a table with what was supposed to be her dinner on it, but she wasn’t planning on eating or resting just yet.

She quietly left the cabin and crept through the train. She was curious about the remaining humans and scouting them was one of the few things she could think off to pass the time. All the cabins she went past were similar to theirs, and through the windows she only saw weak, sometimes even injured people inside. She almost reached the end of the train when she felt a somewhat strong presence radiating from the other side of one of the doors. Sneaking closer to their window cat ears perked up under her hat as she overheard a conversation.

“Yeah I suppose it was all right, but I really wish they didn’t separate us from the rest in those tunnels,” said a lanky, pale man. He wore his black hair in a complex arrangement of braids and buns. His long jacket covered most of his tattoos that he otherwise showed off proudly in his sleeveless shirt.

“I bet you would’ve enjoyed watching all those poor sobs die you freak,” remarked the much bulkier man that was sitting on the other side. He stroked his long, blonde beard that was framing his head, his simple clothes almost ripping apart due to the huge muscles they didn’t fit at all.

“But of course I would’ve. Death is the thing I admire the most! It’s my muse, my art, my drive! After all, isn’t it what connect us all in the end? It has so many forms, everyone reacts so differently in the face of it. Capturing those feelings, be it a photo or a painting is true art!” the pale man explained.”And it’s not like I go around killing people. I merely live with the rare chances I get,” he added.

“That’s exactly why a dead or alive bounty is always dead in your book,” the bearded man sighed.

“I did say I live with the chances I get. It adds a bit of color to the grey life of a bounty hunter. It’s not like those criminals doesn’t deserve it anyway” he responded.

“Why do I even bother with you?” Resigned the other man.

“Can you stop your quarrel? It’s too late for this! The faster we get on with this stupid exam the faster we get those licenses and reach our target.” complained a small woman, almost looking like a child.

Pitou stared at them like she was looking at a delicious feast. They were the most powerful ones among these humans for sure and their aura piqued her interest. She wanted to fight them right there, but she repressed the urge and settled for simply observing. They quickly fell asleep after their talk was over, but she already satisfied her curiosity. Pitou sneaked back to her room with a newfound hope that she might be able to face those people tomorrow.

After eating the food that was left on the table she laid down on the bed. She had no intention of sleeping in the same room with a human. His breathing, his scent all annoyed her. Because of him she couldn’t even change to something more comfortable for the night and she will have to spend all these hours staring at the blank wall, pretending to be asleep. However, not even half an hour later she felt her eyelids getting heavier and her thoughts numbed. She closed her eyes to rest them for a while, trying to gather some strength for the rest of her vigil that shouldn’t be hard in the first place.

As she opened her eyes she saw shadows playfully chasing each other, using the wall as their playground. It was the morning sun that cast the vivid imagery in front of her. She must have fallen asleep, but why? She should be able to stay awake for much longer. Was she still this weak? Pitou dismissed her concerns and began stretching, her ears eagerly twitching. She immediately froze. Running her fingers through her hair she felt the familiar, soft triangular ears, free from the hat she was wearing before. Her heart started to beat faster and she quickly turned around, nervously looking at the human. He was still sleeping, facing the other side. After a few painfully slow seconds she spotted the blue hat on the floor, right in front of her bed. With a frown she put it back to its usual place. This whole hiding started get on her nerves. After what they have done the humans should be the ones hiding from her and not the other way around.

Pitou was watching the trees racing past the window when she heard a loud yawn as the human on the opposite side of the room awake.

“How many did you count?” He asked while sitting up on the bed.

“Huh?” Pitou turned towards the man with surprise. She was not expecting to be spoken to after yesterday.”What?”

“You looked pretty busy there, I thought you were doing something besides staring,” he said casually.

“You didn’t really care about what I was doing before. Why care now?” Pitou wondered.

“Oh yeah, I should apologize, I was just in a bad mood. I’m sorry I was a bit grumpy before” he said.”Name is Dale by the way. So…..Nyla right? Where did you came from before joining this train ride?”

“I’m from West Gorteau,” Pitou answered, trying to remember the name of that place she stumbled upon with little success.”From a small village near the shore and a lake.”

“Guess the world really is a small place, I came from there too! I wandered around quiet a bit there, I bet I can figure out that town of yours,” he seemed to think for a bit.”It must be Teveala. I remember spending some time by that lake. It’s still too cold for a swim this time of the year, right?”

“Yeah, it definitely is. You wandered around a lot? Why is that?” Neferpitou asked while cursing her luck. If he is from that place then saying the wrong thing might make him suspicious. Its best if she is the one asking questions.

“My old man is a beast hunter, he always searched for undiscovered animals. He couldn’t even find his own stuff if you ask me, but he firmly believes that he will eventually discover something. Anyway, I traveled with him and helped out in some jobs, tracking down escaped livestock, taking out dangerous predators and the like. Figured I might as well take this exam myself, see what it’s all about,” Dale explained.

“So you are a hunter who wants to be a Hunter” Pitou chuckled.

“It does sound stupid when you put it that way,” he admitted.”But what about you? Don’t tell me the village life was so boring you decided that risking almost certain death would be a fun change.”

“I...must do something,” she muttered.”for someone important.”

“All right, you can keep it to yourself if you want to. Are they really not going to give us any breakfast before we arrive? I mean, I can forgive the deathtraps but this is just cruel,” Dale complained.

Pitou didn’t share his worries. As far as she was concerned the whole train was filled with food, but soon a guide did appear with their breakfast.

“You said that you hunted beasts before. Can you tell me more about that?” Pitou asked after finishing her meal. She was hoping that making him speak would distract him from prying in her past, and he might actually have something interesting to say.

“Heh, I didn’t want to brag about my skills but if you insist then I have no choice,” said Dale with confidence.

Before the train came to a stop Dale told a few stories about his hunts going into detail about traps or the weak spots of various beasts. As they finally left the vehicle they found themselves on a rocky cliff. The noticeably salty air and the sound of waves crashing on the stone walls made the vast sea that was under the cliff, meeting the blue sky in the horizon a surprise to none. Just by the edge was the silhouette of tall man, the rising sun right behind him creating a shining line on the surface of the surging water. The man was wearing green, baggy pants with a yellow vest, leaving his tan and brawny arms bare. He had several tattoos of sun and water motifs on his arms, and had one golden earring forming a crescent in his right ear. After all the participants left the train and gathered before him he began his speech.

“I greet all of you at the location of the second phase. My name is Dawson and you will have to complete my task if you wish to continue. For this test you will have to jump from right where I’m standing into the water below us. The sea is currently about six degrees in Celsius, or forty three in Fahrenheit. The currents will be stronger as the sun rises, with the sea level rising about…..,” He began a long explanation about the different attributes of the seawater.

“Aaaaaand we lost him,” remarked Dale who was standing next to Pitou in the crowd.

“…. making an excellent environment for its inhabitants. Oh wait, where was I? Yes, once in the water you must find rainbow clams that reside on the bottom and bring up seven of their pearls. Pass them to your teammates who will be waiting here. Their task will be to bring those pearls to me. I will be waiting for you on the other side of that forest. You have until noon to complete this task. As a last word be cautious, the currents are strong and there are plenty of dangerous animals both in the water and on the land,” with that he began walking towards the nearby forest.

Pitou felt the fur on her tail slightly raising up as she looked at the sea beneath them, the waves besieging the rocky wall in a never ending battle. She never had the chance or a reason to dive into a lake where she couldn’t reach the bottom. Every inch of her body wanted to stay away from the sea as far as possible, but she had little choice.

“Seems fishy right?” She heard Dales voice from behind.

“What are you doing?” Asked Pitou because he already removed his jacket and was currently untying his boots.

“Going for a swim! The weather is so nice you can almost see the ice forming on the water,” he finished removing his boots.

“I’ll do it, you can stay here,” said Pitou but the look on her face was far from convincing.

“Are you an experienced diver? Searching on the bottom of a sea is different from swimming in a lake for fun. Look, I have done this before and I know what to look out for,” Dale pointed out.

“Alright fine, but you better back your stories up now,” agreed Pitou with a sigh after a bit of hesitation.

“Don’t mistake me for these beginners. I’ll get the biggest pearls out there. I’ll even let you choose their colors!” Dale said with unwavering confidence.”But not the shades though. If we start to talk about shades again I’m jumping off this cliff right now.”

Soon all the participants who decided to go into the water leapt off the cliff towards the azure waves. Neferpitou held her breath as she watched her teammate diving into the water. Some of the others landed badly or hit a reef but Dale safely ended his fall and disappeared in the sea. The whole situation left Pitou feeling weird. She was ashamed that she had to rely on a human, even if it was just for a ridiculous test. Also, she started to get worried about him. Every time she spotted a bit of red discoloring the clear water she couldn’t help but hope that he was fine, or be filled with relief when he surfaced to take a breath.

Of course for now he was crucial for her plans. But still, worrying over a humans life felt unnatural. Meruem would surely punish such thoughts, even if it was simply because of the humans usefulness. Or would he? Now that she was thinking about it there might have been something. Something he did that was very important for Pitou. Something that she just couldn’t remember.

She was interrupted by Dale who was waving at her with a pouch in his hand. When he was sure he got her attention he pulled back his hand and threw the pouch towards Pitou as hard as he could. The pouch flew high into the air and went above the cliff before it was caught by Pitou. She spun around while still in the air and started running towards the forest when her foot touched the ground.

Sprinting through the forest she soon found a large clearing without any trees, the sandy ground noticeably different from the grassy terrain she traveled on so far. It was like a huge hole in the middle, the forest continued on the other side of the clearing. It looked suspicious, yet she chose to cross it instead of a detour.

Pitou left about one third of it behind when she felt tremors under her feet. She thrust herself high into the air, looking back just in time to see some kind of a lizard, about three times her size breaking through the ground with open jaws right where she was standing just a second ago. Its large maw had two rows of razor sharp teeth. The ridges on its back come all the way down to the end of its head, forming three long, spiraling horns. It had four short limbs with a long tail, the light brown scales that cowered its body made it blend into the sand. Noticing that its prey was gone it shortly retreated beneath the earth, leaving only a cloud of sand behind.

As soon as she landed Pitou lowered herself to prepare for the next attack. This time the lizard chose a different approach and rushed at her in a straight line, the ridges on its back slightly hung out of the ground as it was rapidly burrowing through the sand. Soon it surfaced into the air, flying like a bullet, deadly horns pointed right at her. Faster then even the leaping reptile Pitou brought up her leg, striking the beast right under it’s head with her knee. The incredible force behind the strike rose the body of the lizard even higher into the air where its head met with Pitous fist. The lizard was smashed into the ground broken and motionless, but soon she felt tremors from several other directions.

Pitou wouldn’t have minded playing with them for a little longer but time was working against her. She dashed forward, sprinting towards the other side, pushing her damaged legs to their limit. A huge amount of sand rose into the air behind her, limiting her vision as the ground dwelling lizards began their chase. Her ears picked up a strange sound to her left. She instinctively crouched down, just in time as one of the reptiles flew above her, right where her head was before. Familiar ridges appeared to her right as another one charged at her. In the last moment she slightly changed her direction, barely avoiding the surfacing beast. With a wild grin she slashed at it with her claws, leaving deep cuts on the side of the retreating animal. Right before she could reach the forest the ground broke apart in front of her as a reptile emerged from it with horns aimed right at her stomach. Without stopping she jumped forward and delivered a kick into its lower jaw. The devastating blow propelled the reptile backwards and crashed it through several trees, paving a clear path for her. As soon as she passed the border of the sandy area the creatures gave up on following, unwilling to burrow into the solid earth.

Without further interruptions she arrived into a small grove. The trees here grew taller than anywhere else and in an orderly fashion like saluting soldiers, careful not to stick out from the rest. The sun, like a child playing hide and seek sometimes emerged above the lush foliage just to disappear again, smearing the land with sparse shadows. In the middle of the grove and in morose solitude stood an ancient tree, larger than all the others, its thick branches spreading out wide. Despite the lack of leafs it still looked healthy and strong. In front of it sat Dawson, perfectly still as if he himself was part of the unchanging covert. When she approached him Dawson stood up, towering above Pitou.

“Do you have what I asked for?” He extended his hand with an open palm.

“Yes!” Answered Pitou and she poured the contents of the pouch into his hand, revealing seven pearls all shining in different colors.

“Splendid job! I believe your next challenge is awaiting you,” he closed his hand.

“Is that so? Where exactly that would be?” Asked Pitou looking around a bit confused.

“That depends,” she heard his answer from behind and felt a hand on her shoulder.

She spun around but both Dawson and the grove was gone. Instead she was now standing on a tiny and bare islet, barely big enough to take a few steps in any direction. The small piece of land was surrounded by a never ending ocean, its surface sparkling with a silvery glimmer in the moonlight. No matter where she looked her gaze was only met with the same penumbral landscape of the never ending tides dancing to a silent rhythm, meeting with the night sky somewhere far away. The water started rippling before her and her eyes widened as she stepped back from what came next. With a sudden, violent burst seven colossal snakes emerged from the waves, each big enough to easily swallow both her and the small land that kept her safe from the unknown depths. Their glowing, yellow eyes were focused solely on her with a gaze that pierced stone and soul. They looked like mountains, their color impossible to tell since even her own skin seemed to be greyed out, veiled by the moon.

Neferpitous eyes narrowed. She jumped into the air, cracking the land beneath her. In her rise she slashed at the body of the closest snake with her claws, tearing a huge gape in it. Time stood still as she reached the head, the gigantic creature staring calmly at her, unfazed by the attack. To her shock the snake like body was completely unscathed. Fear started to take hold of her, and she felt sweat forming on her skin. All seven of them encircled her while she was still in the air, following her fall. Piercing eyes and fangs larger than a car surrounded her. As soon as she hit the ground their jaws snapped open, and all seven of them lunged at her with blinding speed. Pitou tried to avoid them, ducking and sidestepping out of the path of the gargantuan maws, but she hardly had the room to do so. After a single wrong move she found herself between two heads and nowhere to go. She quickly realized that the only way out was through the open jaws of one of the serpents. As the enormous head began to slip away beside her she leapt into the mouth. The meaty walls around her began to close, and she felt the tip of one of its fangs piercing her left arm. She flew through its maw before it fully closed, and immediately looked around for the other heads.

The sea serpents stopped their attack and rose back to their previous place, looking down on her with their glowing eyes. Pitou felt a strange vibration in her arm so she looked down on the wounded limb. The spot where the fang pierced her skin was now jet black, the strange substance in her veins quickly began to spread. Before she could even think about cutting off her arm the blackness had already spread all over her body. It didn’t hurt at all, but the vibration she felt before was now intense. She could only watch in disbelief as the black mass emerged out of her, taking on her form. She was staring right into her own eyes, and those eyes gazed back with a similar confusion.

Observing her own features many emotions passed through her due to the incomprehensible sight, but it was clear which one of them was the strongest. A sudden, uncontrollable rage washed through her. All she saw was weakness, a guard who failed her sole purpose, the same weakness that caused Meruems death. With a vicious snarl she lashed out, a malevolent aura burst out of her and stuck against the image just like the waves against the small islet beneath them. She attacked like a wild animal, slashing and stabbing in reckless furry but her double matched her speed. It dodged her claws and blocked all the kicks and punches. Soon the combat turned into a grapple as they locked their hands, their surroundings left them with no space for fine maneuvers.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t ovecome the strange opponent. The stalemate lasted for a few more minutes before the helplessness and hate welled up in her. Tears started to fall from her eyes, but even with her now distorted vision she saw the whole world spin around. She was now in place of her other self, the face in front of her a twisted visage of rage and pain. It looked pathetic. In her mind she lived through that miserable night again, the night when she found her dead comrades and the king who was fated for so much more. Pitou didn’t care anymore, she simply dropped to her knees and buried her face in her hands, beginning to weep beneath the gigantic shadow of the snakes.

Beside her own wailing she started to hear birds and the wind blowing through the leafage of trees. As she looked up the sun began to warm her tear stained face with its rays. There were no snakes, lookalikes or oceans, even the bite mark on her arm disappeared without a trace. She took a good look around to help herself calm down. Although she was back this wasn’t the grove where she stood before. The trees around her looked just like the countless ones she had already passed, growing wild and without order. Disoriented, she wandered around aimlessly for a while before her ears picked up a quarrel close by. She headed towards its direction, making her way through the bushes.

“Did you think we wouldn’t come after you?” Asked one of the four man who stood before a fifth one.

“You will take responsibility for what you have done!” Added another one of them.

“All right, I’m responsible for saving your lives. If I was able to trick you that easily then you would have died on the next tests for sure,” answered Dale with crossed arms and a confident smile.”No need to thank me.”

“I’ll show you just how thankful we are,” the man who spoke before charged at Dale with clenched fists.

As he was preparing his blow Dales leg shot out, the kick brought him down to his knees. Dale drew his dagger out of its sheath with a quick spin, the hilt soon meeting with the head of its victim, knocking him out in an instant.

“Are you really gonna draw a weapon on us?” Asked one of the remaining men.

‘In fact I already did,” Dale readied the said dagger.

The conversation was over. The three men carefully closed on him, drawing their own weapons. The bravest one hastily struck out with a machete, trusting in its superior reach. Dale parried the attack, forcing his weapon to the side and making a small cut on his hand. He was in the middle of swinging the machete again but before he could a nen powered kick sent him flying to the nearest tree. Using this opportunity the other two attacked him at the same time. He leaned away from a thrusting rapier but a knife did reach his palm, making a swallow cut. Dales hand twitched and his knife flew towards the rapier wielder, its hilt breaking his nose and rendering him unconscious. Without his weapon Dale dodged a few knife swings before stepping out of the way of a thrust, and grabbed the hand of his opponent. As soon as his hand touched him the mans eyes became glassy and his body limp. Dale calmly stepped in front of him and pushed on his chest with a single finger. The man fell to the ground without any resistance.

“Got you now!” Shouted the angry man who was still pinned to the tree, squeezing a gun in his hand.

“Oh, so that’s how you want to do it? Alright then,” Smiling, Dale formed a gun with his fingers and pointed it at the nervous man.

“What the hell are you doing? Hey, why can’t I rise my arm?!” Shouted the man visibly shocked.

“It’s because of the little spice I added to the blade of my knife,” he pulled out a vial from one of his pockets.”Don’t worry it’s not lethal, it’ll only help you sleep for a while. Or at least I think so, getting the dose right was never one my strong suits to be fair. Now BANG!”

He pulled back his finger gun just like he shoot an actual one, and the man by the tree collapsed.

“Did you enjoy the show? You know, this was kind of your fault,” Dale spoke towards Pitou who was watching the fight from behind a nearby bush.

“My fault?” Asked Pitou leaving her hiding place.

“Yeah, you gave me a handicap,” he declared with a serious look.

“I don’t remember doing anything like that,” she said even more confused, tilting her head.

“But you did! You never told me the color you wanted the pearls to be. I managed to get seven of them on my own but then I remembered my promise. I figured that if I get seven different ones then surely one of them would be the color you wanted. But that would have taken too much time so I stole some from these guys,” he explained.

“Uh, I only saw them when I gave them to the examiner but nice job I guess,” she said with a playful smile.

“Well, that’s a waste. At least it wasn’t for nothing, things here got pretty dull while you were running around having all the fun. These losers were at least a decent warm up,” Dale went to pick up his dagger before explaining how another Hunter told them to go to different locations and wait for the return of their teammates. He also told him where the next phase will be held in case Dawson accepts their offering.

“I hope everything went well because they also gave me your lunch and bad news make me extra hungry,” added Dale, waving a paper bag with warm food in it in front of her.

“Everything was….fine,” Neferpitou answered with a short delay.

“Then you earned your meal,” he cheered and tossed her the bag.”But you know what they say, sharing is caring.”

They began to make their way for the next exam but Pitous steps were still heavy from the encounter with the serpents.


	8. End of the hunt

“All right you sorry lot, if you thought you had it bad before than you will be sorely disappointed! My name is Knuckle Bine and you have the misfortune of me being your examiner,” shouted Knuckle into the crowd. His loud voice thundered between their lines, aggravating Neferpitou even more. After just one look at the man she recognised him as an enemy, one she has seen before. At first her hearth began to burn with fury. It took every bit of her willpower not to tear the man to shreds in front of everyone. Then, as her mind started to clear out a bit the burning rage was put out by the icy grasp of fear. Knuckle must have seen her too! All it would take is a single glance at her face, and he could surely identify her. If that happens then it will be all over and everything she did so far would be for nothing. One way or another they will kill her and she will die as an absolute failure. With her blood running cold she pulled the visor of her hat lower, obscuring her face as much as possible. The group gathering in front of Knuckle was now visibly smaller than before, only a handful of teams made it this far. With eyes cast down and clenched teeth she stood at the very end of the line, hiding behind humans much larger then her.

“You think that once you are Hunters you will be the big shot with not a single care in the world as long as you can defend yourself, right? Wrong! Protecting others is one of the many tasks a Hunter might face. You will have to prove you are capable to do that by protecting these,” he rose his right hand into the air with a pair of eggs in his clutches.”The plateau we are standing on is not the only one around here. There is another one right next to us, and both plateaus are connected by those ropes.”

He pointed towards a pair of ropes that were tied to the rocky floor, their other end lost in the milky white fog. Despite how much time they spent climbing up here it was still early afternoon. The higher they went the denser the fog became, and it continued all the way up to the wide, plain top where Knuckle was waiting for them. Now it felt like they were standing inside of a cloud, surrounded by a white shroud.

“Your task is to get one of these eggs safely to the other side on those ropes. Only walking on them is allowed, I’ll know if you try anything else! If someone falls down he is disqualified and if the egg breaks the whole team is busted. But that’s not all! You’ll have to carry the eggs in these spoons. Both the eggs and the spoons have been specially equipped for this exam. If an egg is not touching a spoon for too long it will break. You can pass the egg to another spoon four times, but pass it a fifth time and it will also break,” Knuckle put the tools on a table in front of him.”There will be a few obstacles along the way. Obviously you are not allowed to destroy them. They are not lethal and there is a safety net below us. You can thank your luck that I felt generous this morning. Now, I need one person from every team to take one spoon for each member and an egg. Hurry it up!”

Dale took it on himself to get the items for which Pitou was thankful. Soon he returned with a pair of spoons, an egg sitting in one of them.

“I’ll take that one,” pointed Pitou at the one with the egg.

“Okay, but better be careful or we might just find out the answer to an age old question,” He gave her the requested spoon.

“What question?” Asked Pitou, rising an eyebrow.

“You know, which came first the chicken or the egg….eh, never mind,” came the whacky answer.

The waiting was nerve-racking. Every human that abandoned the already small group left her more exposed. Things only got worse when it was their turn to go. As she stood in front of the ropes she could feel Knuckles prying eyes on her back. She tried to calm down, she was facing away from him and there is no way he could tell who she is just by looking at her back. All her clothes are new and the fog should conceal her even more. Even so, she expected Knuckle to stop the exam and attack her in every passing second. She was relieved when she finally stepped on the rope with one foot. Even without the use of a tail her sense of balance was perfect, she quickly created a good distance between herself and the only human who knew her.

To Dales defense he was able to walk on the rope too, but there was no way he could keep up with Neferpitou. She was almost as fast as if she was running on solid ground, the thin rope under her feet barely slowed her down. Soon he lost sight of her in the fog.

“Hey wait up! No need to sprint through the whole thing,” he shouted into the mist.

Pitou glanced towards the other rope before she dared to look back. The plateau they were standing on with Knuckle was nowhere to be seen, the two ropes were now hanging in a sea of fog without any ground in sight. She slowed her steps allowing Dale to catch up.

“I thought you left me hanging there!” Complained Dale.

“It’s not my fault you are slow,” pointed out Pitou while playfully tossing the egg into the air and catching it with the spoon.

“Yeah, slow compared to a monkey,” he looked at the egg she was playing with.”And could you stop doing that?!”

Shortly the outline of something moving appeared ahead of them. As they drew closer it was clear that they came across one of the obstacles Knuckle was talking about. It was a big wooden barrel, painted red. It was swinging from one side to the other, blocking Dales and Pitou’s path at different times. The mechanic it was tied to that kept it swinging was outside of their vision, lost in the fog. Evading it was simple, Pitou didn’t even have to slow down to do so, but it was only the warm up. Four more awaited them after the first one. These were timed so that two would always be on one side, the other two on the other. There was only a brief window between the swings when the path was free, not enough for a human to make it past safely. But it was more then enough for Pitou. With blinding speed she shot out when the barrels began their shift, leaving behind Dale again who had to move back and fort between them in order to pass through.

But soon seven of them appeared out of the fog, all swinging differently, creating a complex pattern in front of them.

“After you pass the third one toss the egg to me and I’ll….,” Dale began planning, but Neferpitou was not listening to him at all.

She was counting. Back when she was dancing in the theater she moved her body in a predetermined way to a rhythm. What she had to do now was no different at all, she only had to adjust the rhythm. Moves started flashing in her mind and she made up a pattern that would carry her to the end by ten counts. As the barrels swung to their place she closed her eyes and breathed out.

One. She leapt forward with stretched out arms before taking a step back, barely avoiding a hit. Then she spun around and stepped to the other direction, leaning ahead on a single leg between two barrels. Four. She stayed like that foe a moment before doing a back flip turning sideways after she landed, just in time to move out of the way of another barrel. She took a single step back before two other forwards, leaning back at the end almost touching the rope. Eight. With a sudden cartwheel she dodged an incoming barrel before finishing with a single long sidestep. Ten. She opened her eyes to see the swinging barrels behind herself accompanied by a loud clapping from her teammate.

“It’s a bit too early to celebrate with a dance, but that was very impressive. My turn, but don’t expect me to dance my way through like that,” Dale said.

Pitou watched with a smirk as he prepared to cross the obstacles blocking his path. The first two was easy to avoid, but he started to have problems after that. The fourth one was approaching him at an alarming rate and his way back was blocked by another one that just came back from the other side. He ran out of options, so he clumsily grabbed the thing that was about to push him away from the rope and held onto it while desperately trying to maintain his footing. After it left for the other side he wildly swung his arms around to regain his balance. He would have surely dropped the egg if he had it, and he had to resort to such measures two more times before he finally passed through. He made it to the other side just to see Pitou clapping back at him with an ironic smile.

“Hey, don’t give me that! It worked, didn’t it?” He barked.

“If you say so,” Neferpitou chuckled before continuing their advancement.

The path didn’t stay safe for long as another set of swinging barrels appeared before them, but this time they counted twelve, and they were timed so both ways were completely blocked at some point, making it impossible to pass through in one go.

“You are not planning on doing this one alone right?” Dale keenly observed the path ahead.

“I can do it,” Pitou assured him.

“No you can’t. You are fast but there is just too much of them. You couldn’t even shot a bullet between them without hitting one. We’ll have to work together, just trust me,” he argued.

“All right then, but be ready,” she told him, but she had no intention to actually involve him in the task.

Without wasting another word she moved on, carefully evading the first two obstacles. She made it to the fifth one without much trouble, but there she found herself in a similar position that Dale was in before. Cornered with nowhere to go and the swinging, red barrel that would inevitably shove her aside crept closer and closer.

“Pass it now!” Shouted Dale but Pitou ignored him.

She dashed forward and tried to pass through before the barrel could arrive. She almost made it. With a dull bang the obstacle collided with her leg and almost made her fall. Pitou trashed around, trying to recover from the blow while the rope was shaking violently under her because of the harsh movements. To her horror the next barrel that was far away before now also got dangerously close due to the time she lost in her forced stop.

“Toss it or we both lose!” Dale desperately cried out. He too was making his way across on the other side.

He was right. The thought of trusting something as important as the fate of her mission on a human was frightening, but she had no choice. With a small swing he tossed the egg towards Dale and prepared to bump into the approaching object. Dale caught the egg in his spoon, counterbalancing with his other arm. With the key to their exam in his hands he was able to make it through three barrels before he too found his way blocked.

“Catch!” He shouted and tossed the egg towards Pitou whose way was now free.

Pitou caught the egg and sprinted forward. She finally reached the end of the obstacles, leaving a still struggling Dale behind. Without stopping she pushed on, only slowing down when the other plateau appeared before her out of the fog. With a triumphant smile she stepped off the rope, finally feeling solid ground under her feet again.

“Hey little girl, are you lost?” Came a voice from the fog, soon followed by the silhouette of a bulky man.

“We can show you the exit for that egg you have there,” proposed another one closer to her. In a few seconds she was surrounded by four men, with nothing but the edge of the plateau behind her.

“We just lost ours so you came in clutch. Just give it to us and you are free to go,” promised the middle one before her with an open palm, waiting.

“Nyaokay, catch!” She tossed the egg above.

The egg flew high into the air, and the four man watched its flight in disbelief. The egg spun around a few times, reached its peak then fell right back into Pitou’s spoon who was now encircled by four unconscious man. When she looked down on the still breathing bodies she realized how unnecessarily merciful she was with them. Crushing their head would have been just as easy as knocking them out. The exam was already deadly, a bunch of other humans died before. No one would care if these four were added to the body count. Then why?

“What’s up with them?” Asked Dale behind her, finally reaching the end too.

“They must’ve been awfully tired,” she answered with a quirky smile, tossing up the egg and catching it with her spoon.

“Better let them sleep then,” he carefully stepped over the helpless men before returning his gaze to Pitou who was still playing around with the egg.”And seriously, just stop it.”

With that they successfully completed the third phase, a feat not many could accomplish. Apparently only four teams qualified for the final phase, which was to be held tomorrow. All the remaining participants were transported deep into the woods that lay under the twin plateaus. It didn’t take long till they reached their destination, a row of small log cabins in the woodlands. Due to their dwindled numbers each one of them were able to take a cabin all for themselves, turning the night before the last test a calm and solitary one.

The front door led into the small, double roomed inside. Its corner served as a kitchen and had a small bathroom divided by inner walls from the rest. The front was filled with a simple bed and wardrobe matching the log house in material. Pitou put down her bag but before she could settle in she heard noises from outside. The footsteps stopped just before the door, and soon knocking followed them. She opened the door to see Dale standing outside in the dusk.

“Hey, got a minute?” He turned towards the field that lay before the row of cabins.

“For what? Found something?” She asked with curiosity as she followed him.

“We could always find something in a forest at night, but right now I have something else in mind,” he turned around, facing her with an extended hand.”I think this is a good time to celebrate”.

“You want to dance?” Pitou asked with a baffled look on her face.

“Yeah, I saw that you are pretty good at it and this night put me in the mood,” he said with a smile.”Don’t worry, I won’t be angry if you step on my foot.”

With a defiant expression Pitou stepped closer to him and placed her gloved hand in his. With her other hand on his shoulder, and his on her thin waist they began with slow, rhythmical steps. Their dancing was accompanied by the screech of crickets and the tweet of nocturnal birds. The light of the moon followed their movements, coating the dance floor in a silvery glimmer.

“So, where did you learn to dance? Those were some neat moves back there,” he asked as he held his arm out to spin her around.

“From my mother, mostly,” she lied, returning to their previous hold.

“Strange, that small town of yours doesn’t have a theater, and I only ever saw more traditional dance there on festivals. Do you have any siblings that also share her talents?” He continued his questions while they extended their arms facing each other and locked both of their hands.

“No I don’t,” she answered briefly, starting to get annoyed. They stepped close to each other with locked hands, their face almost meeting before taking a long step back just to repeat the same motion again.

“Then that person who is important to you, is it one of your parents? That thing you must do, is it for them?” He asked casually, but his eyes looked serious. They were holding one open palm against the other ones, facing each other while taking long steps. After hearing his question Pitou’s next step was a bit shorter then before. A small ripple in a smooth flow, perhaps not even noticeable from certain angles, but it was there for the keen observer.

“Maybe. If we make it to the end I might tell you,” she answered after a bit of thinking. Grabbing each others hands they returned to their starting hold.

“But now that you mention it you didn’t seem to be too interested in becoming a Hunter before, yet you sounded pretty desperate on those ropes.” she remarked.

“I...just got caught up in the heat of the moment,” he explained while giving her a spin. Instead of spinning back Pitou was now standing with her back to Dale. He held her by her left hand and led her with similar rhythmical steps.

“What about your bad mood? You haven’t acted like that again, seems a bit odd to me,” she added. Pitou didn’t see Dales face but felt that it was his turn for a very slight misstep, another ripple in the flow. She turned back and put her arm around Dales neck, who in turn put his on her back and supported her while she leaned backwards.

“Yeah well, just family troubles. Separated parents and the like,” he said, his face was close enough for Pitou to see his eyes looking away from her gaze before the answer.

“All right, thanks for helping me blow off some steam,” he said while helping her back up.”We should go get some rest, tomorrow might be rough.”

* * *

Neferpitou was sitting on top of the bed back in the house with closed eyes. The solitude of this last night gave her a chance to change into something less restricting. Her ears and tail were happily twitching, enjoying their long due freedom, but she didn’t share their enthusiasm. Doubt crept its way to her hearth, like a shadow before nightfall, slowly growing larger in the fading light. Doubt in her duties and the way she wanted to serve Meruem. She never intended to live for too long, just long enough to exact a worthy revenge on humanity for their crimes before her own death. But right now taking lives so carelessly seemed wasteful, even if they were just humans. Maybe, this was the effect of spending too much time among them, acting like she is one of them? Have their weakness rubbed off on her? Or perhaps it was due to the vague memories that sometimes surfaced in her mind, the strange feeling of….remorse?

No, of course that can’t be the case. What she thinks or how she feels is not important as long as what she is doing is in service of Meruem. With her eyes closed she was still able to see him. Like he was right there with her, patiently observing his guard.

As always it was Meruem who helped to ease her mind, his limitless wisdom illuminating the darkest of nights even after his death. She now remembered how his aura felt like when Komugi got hit during the attack. He, someone who was above everyone else felt that a mere human was worthy of such . The memory of him entrusting the injured Komugi to her still filled her heart with warmth. His trust in her was so great that he left what must have been a priceless treasure to him in her care, and she almost betrayed that trust. Had she went on with her plan she might have killed someone who was just like Komugi, and that would have been against Meruem’s will. There must be a way to tell the worthy ones apart from the rest and she will find it, but for now her goal was still clear. The Hunters must die, every last one of them who had a hand in destroying their future. Time will tell what she will do after that.

With the next day came their last challenge. Unlike before there was no examiner explaining their task, the remaining teams had to go on their separate ways. All four of them were given a map and coordinates to reach with a vague idea of having to find something. Naturally, Dale was much more experienced in navigation so Pitou let him handle it. On their way there he frequently stopped in front of various plants or insects and gave her a short lecture about them. She had no idea why he kept doing it, but she didn’t stop him. There was some sort of passion in him during these lectures that peaked her curiosity. When he stopped again she expected another speech about the local fauna, but instead he just pointed at a nearby tree.

“That’s the spot!” He went ahead and took the paper sheet that was pinned to its bark.

“So? What does it say?” Asked Pitou, glancing towards the reading man.

“Applicants! Your last task will be to hunt down a thabbit! But not just any thabbit, we only want the ones with a coat as pure as the fresh snow! There are only two such thabbits around, and they are located at the opposite parts of this forest. The coordinates you followed made it so that your team and one of the others is close to one of those locations. Taking away the coat from the other team is allowed, but only in a non lethal way. Anyone who kills another participant will be disqualified along with the rest of the team! Any team that brings back a requested coat to the log houses in 5 hours will pass the exam! The clock starts now!” He read.

“What is a thabbit?” Pitou asked.

“Its a small rodent. Fast and elusive,” he explained.

“And what could they mean by pure coat?” She placed a finger on her chin.

“We have to catch an albino. You know, weird white hair and freaky red eyes,” he answered, amused by her question.

“Hmm, I wonder what would happen if one of the teams were to kill one of their own and blame it on a wining team. Could they pass that way?” She thought out loud.

“Hey calm down, I was just joking!”

“If I were to kill you I wouldn’t be discussing it with you” Pitou said with a completely straight face.

“That’s...reassuring. Anyway, I assume the Association has the means to tell if you are lying.” Dale put the paper sheet away.

“I see. lets just get this over with,” Pitou turned away from him and placed her hands on her hips, observing the forest.

“I was hoping that we could play a game,” he interrupted her.

“A game?” She turned back immediately, a bit too excited.”What game?”

“How about we make a little contest out of this? We split up, and the first one to catch the thabbit will win,” he suggested.

“Wouldn’t splitting up be a bit too risky nyaow?” She wondered.

“On the contrary! All we need to do is hunt down the animal before the other team and bring it to the examiners. You don’t need a team for that, and both of us will pass regardless of who actually completes the task. The other team might attack us, but that’s always a risk and we can cover more ground this way.”

He was right. She doesn’t need him anymore. She could just leave and ignore him for the rest of the exam, and she would still pass. But she didn’t feel like doing that. He was useful, and had knowledge that could be right now. Also, she just had more fun around him then alone.

“All right, that’s true. But what would be the reward of the winner?” She mused.

“Simple, the winner can ask a favor from the loser,” he suggested.

“Hmm...but what could I ask from you?” She looked up, lost in thoughts.

“Come on, there must be something you can come up with!” He frowned.”But don’t hurt yourself thinking about it too hard. I’ll win anyway.”

“We’ll see,” she said with a smirk before sprinting ahead into the forest.

As soon as she was out of his vision she picked up the pace, her form becoming a blur. Despite her fast movements she barely made any sound, like a stalking predator, careful not to alert the potential prey. All her senses were focused on spotting any creature nearby, hear ears perking up to the slightest of noises under her hat. She sneaked up on many animals, some of them even matching the description but not the color. For nearly two hours she crept around, like a cat chasing mice, but she failed to find the white rodent.

When she returned to the place she started from she was shocked to see Dale kneeling in front of the dead white thabbit, knife in hand. He barely moved away from the tree where the message was.

“That’s not fair! You knew where it was, didn’t you?” She whined.

“Of course I did. I never bet, unless I’m sure I’ll win,” he admitted.

“How? I Should have noticed it if it was that close,” she narrowed her eyes.

“Had you paid attention earlier you might have noticed it too,” He pointed at a nearby patch of plants.”See those? Those are-”

“Coneutzia. I did pay attention,” Pitou interrupted.

“Yeah, to the small details but you fail to see the bigger picture. This plant attracts these little guys like a magnet. All you had to to is hide here and wait for them to show up, but instead you rushed away aimlessly. You just try to force your will on a system instead of trying to learn its rules.” He explained.

“You just got lucky, I could have found it while you were doing nothing” She remarked.

“I still won haven’t I?” Dale pointed out.

“So, what do you want me to do?” She asked, slightly curious about the answer.

“Right now? Nothing, I just want a promise.” He stooped his work to look at her.”I want you to promise me that we will stick together just a bit longer after this. There is something I want you to see.”

“You want to show me something? More plants perhaps?” She playfully queried.

“No, not this time. I’m not sure if you will like it to be honest,” he answered.

“Hmm, that only makes me more curious,” Pitou sat down, propping her chin in her palm as she watched the man prepare the dead animal.

“Why did you do that?” She asked tilting her head as Dale made a strange motion with his hands.

“To calm down its buddies. Death threats from thabbits are the worst!” He said with a serious look.

“Are you rely afraid of them?” She looked even more confused.

“No, it’s just to show respect,” he admitted.

“Respect for what? You were stronger and now it’s dead. What’s there to respect?” Pitou raised an eyebrow.

“If you don’t respect what you kill to live then what does that make you? A hunter of weak and pathetic things.”he argued.”Besides, I can’t help but admire the way they live. They don’t wage meaningless wars, hate or strife for revenge. We could learn a thing or two from them.”

“You say that nyaow, but I wonder.” she took her eyes off of the animal.”If it came down to it, would you act like them?”

“Okay, I’m done. Time to finally claim our reward!” He finished packing the prepared animal and stood up to head towards their final destination.

They traveled in complete silence. Pitou had many things to consider. She might have completed the exam, but the hardest part may very well yet to come. First, she must learn about all the Hunters who had a role in the attack against them, and eliminate them as soon as possible. Besides being the first targets of her vengeance they are also dangerous since they might be able to identify her. Once that’s finished she still had the problem of having to find out who to spare. Maybe if she were to carefully analyze what she remembered about Komugi she might…

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden noise. She turned her head letting out a surprised nya just in time to see the fallen trunk they passed coming towards them at breakneck speed. Instead of dodging in the split of a second she had before the collision she positioned herself so that she would get the worst of it and not Dale. After all, he wouldn’t be able to show her anything with broken bones. Soon enough the unlikely attacker hit both her and Dale with the force of a cannon ball, shattering to pieces and sending both of them flying. Her flight was stopped when she hit a nearby tree, the impact pushing the air out o her lungs. As she looked back she saw a tall man staring back at her. He had the white coat that Dale must have dropped in his hands.  
  
“You are still conscious? Very impressive!” The man marveled. When he took a better look at Pitou he finally noticed it. Something he has never seen before, something beautiful. He had no idea what really caught his attention about this girl crouching on the ground with her back against a tree, but that mattered little to him. He formed a squire with his hands, and looked at Pitou through it.

“No, no, this won’t do. The colors are so dull, I can’t do you justice here!” He complained.”How about you and your little friend go ahead and find a more fitting place for your painting. Oh yeah, and for a battle.”

Meanwhile Pitou’s blood began to boil. She recognised this man, he was the same man she saw on the train. Her hands twitched as a strong urge to fight took over her. She brought her legs under herself, ready to spring out at any moment.

“Make it quick Vito, we haven’t got much time left.” the robust man who arrived with the small girl reminded him.

“Too bad since I already told them they are free to go. You wouldn’t want me to go against my word, right Bruin?”

“A promise is a promise. In five minutes we will head for the examiners. If you want your coat back then wait for us somewhere on the way,” his features softened a bit.” You should return to your home with pride, knowing that you did well and were beaten only by the bad luck that matched you against us in the final round. I would hate to put you in the hospital for no reason.”

“If they were willing to do that they wouldn’t be here,” interrupted Vito.

“You can bet we won’t. Giving us the home terrain was the worst thing you could have done, right?” Dale looked at Pitou, who was just about to pounce on them.

His words made her hesitate. If she were to unleash her aura she would crush these three in seconds. Even without it she was confident that she would win, but underestimating humans is what got her here in the first place. So, Pitou calmed down and turned towards Dale.

“Right,” she nodded.

* * *

After running for a while they reached the clearing that they were currently standing on. Only a single tree stood in the middle of it, a lone tower in the sea of grass. Besides the leaves that covered the ground beneath the tree it was completely bare. The forest surrounding it was dense, the vegetation grew tall and made traveling slow. Their pursuers would be fools not to choose this path.

“I’ll wait for them here,” decided Pitou.

“Okay, at least they won’t be able to throw sticks at us. I’ll go and wait inside the forest just in case. That creep seemed to be pretty obsessed with you but we can’t risk letting them walk past us,” he offered.

“No need. I’ll climb up to that tree, if they try to sneak by I’ll notice it from there,” she assured him, her vision was more than enough to make sure they can’t escape.

“If you say so” he shrugged.”I already planned a bit of a surprise for them, I’ll..”

“You can leave, I’ll deal with them and follow you shortly,” Pitou interrupted him.

“What, you want all the fun for yourself? I’m just trying to help here!” He argued.

“I don’t need your help,” she told him like she was speaking with an ant soldier who overstepped his boundaries.

“You said that yesterday too. Remember how it worked out?”

* * *

The bounty hunters moved carefully in the forest. They knew how dangerous people can get when they are cornered. Not even the slightest of sounds escaped their attention, they were suspicious of every single bush and leafage, expecting a sneak attack. That’s why, when they arrived to the edge of the clearing, they were baffled at the sight of Pitou dropping down from the tree in the middle.

“This one is mine. You stay here and cover me, but don’t even try to ruin my masterpiece!” Vito ordered his companions.

“Fine, seeing you in an open fight will be a nice change anyway. Just remember, no killing!” Bruin shrugged. They worked together because they complemented each other perfectly. He was the brawler while Vito was the one to set up traps and deal with targets in more unconventional ways. While he didn’t exactly approved of his backhanded tactics, he couldn’t deny their effectiveness.

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll just knock her out and make a picture of that. Not perfect, but it’ll have to do,” Vito started walking towards Neferpitou, but stopped after making some distance between himself and his companions.”Where is your little friend? You think I’m a fool? If you want the fur back then come and get it.”

He expected an argument from Pitou, something to lure him into a trap. Once again, his expectations were proven wrong when she started walking towards him with a smirk and didn’t stop until she was just a few steps away from him.

“You are not tricking anyone. You can show us your aura, there is no way you can still walk without it after..”

He was cut short when Pitou leapt at him, beginning her vicious assault. After a few strikes Vito already noticed that she was fighting like a rookie, without any training or form. Her natural agility and nimbleness made her wild swings less crude, but they were still easy to block and retaliate. He expected a quick victory, but realized that every single attack she made was both stronger and faster than the previous one. Soon he found himself on the defense and had a hard time keeping up. Her strikes were now so fast they seemed to come from different angles at the same time, and they started to sting even though he used more of his nen for defense then before. This wasn’t good. He must take her out before she gets out of control.

Pitou struck blow after blow against the human. She enjoyed toying with him, watching him change from a confident fighter to someone desperately trying to defend himself. Perhaps she had too much fun. In her battle frenzy she straightened her fingers and stabbed with it towards the human, the limb acting like spear. Claws ripped through the fabric of her gloves and sank into the mans shoulder, it was only his fast reaction with ryu that saved his arm from being cleaved off by the nenless strike. Realizing what she just did she quickly backed down and clenched her fist, hiding the blood soaked claws.

“A hidden weapon!? I’m joining in!” Shouted Bruin who was observing the fight.

“No, don’t! This is perfect!” Vito turned back towards Pitou.”Come on now, don’t be shy. You drew my blood, but I still have to add yours to the final piece! We are making art here!”

Pitou eagerly accepted the invitation. She jumped towards the man with a kick. Vito blocked her leg with both hands and pushed at it to throw her off, but she simply propelled herself into a somersault. When she landed she saw a blue flash from the corner of her eye. She shot out at the man who was backing away instantly, but saw the blue flash again under her feet as she was charging. Pitou felt a force pushing her upwards, and found herself being launched into the sky. After a few confused blinks at the cloudy sky a wild smile spread across her face. She twisted her body to face the ground, and rose her fist as she began to fall.

Vito watched as the girl flew high into the air. His plan worked, all he had to do now is paint her demise. With a wave of his hand he conjured a ghostly color palette, and began drawing. This trap has to be a masterpiece too! First he used the usual blue, then added a bit of green and red mixing in different colors. He had to work quickly, but still looked down in awe at the finished piece. It was a mixture of colors and symbols, each one offering a different, painful end. It was truly worthy of such opponent.

He looked up just to see when he could finally activate it, but was surprised to see Pitou falling towards him head first at a high speed, her arm prepared for a strike. Vito barely had enough time to jump back. Pitou’s fist smashed into the ground, creating fissures in the earth beneath and destroying his beautiful trap right before his eyes. After that he lost sight of her, the force of the strike threw so much dirt into the air that it created a thick cloud. He began to fall back, touched the red color on his palette and drew a long line on the ground before himself. With a snap of his finger he activated it, the line exploding into a wall of flames. That will keep her away for a while, long enough for him to create something else.

He started painting again, but was interrupted by a rustling sound. Vito watched in disbelief as Pitou flew through the fire with raised fist and a devilish smile, the raging flames reflected in her eyes. He blocked her hit with crossed arms, but the strike sent him sliding back and he felt his bones rattle even through his ryu. Pitou rushed forward to continue her offense, but it was now Vito’s time to smile. He activated the only drawing he managed to place on a boulder that was unearthed by Pitou’s landing. With a blue flash the rock shot out and hit Pitou’s head from behind, making her tumble forward. Vito focused all his nen on one attack and buried his fist in Pitou’s stomach. The punch lifted her up and crashed her against the ground.

Vito swiftly jumped after her for the final blow, but he realized two things as he was approaching her. Instead of fear there was a wild grin on Pitou’s face baring her fangs. He was now sure he never had any chance to win. When he looked in her eyes he finally saw what attracted him to this girl. From ruby red eyes it was death that stared right back at him, an old acquaintance of his that he introduced to many, but never had the chance to meet himself. Some would find the experience shocking, but to him it was just another expression of art.

“So beautiful,” he muttered as he was falling towards his inevitable defeat.

Pitou had fun, but the playtime was over. He was right where she wanted him to be. Her thigh started to swallow up, and she aimed the kick right at the human. Vito tried to block it with everything he got, all in vain. The devastating hit overwhelmed his nen defenses, broke the arm that tried to stop it and sent him flying into the forest. He hit a few trees before coming to a stop, not rising up again.

Bruin was in awe by such a display of power. But then again, Vito was not in his element when it came to a direct fight.

“It’s my turn now. Get on your feet and face me!”He shouted, but Pitou kept laying on the ground without as much as a budge.

“That kick had a lot of force behind it, maybe it was some short of self harming technique,” he stroked his beard.”I’ll go there and see what’s up with her”

“Don’t! It could be a trap!” The woman shook her head.

“Then so be it, no tricks will best me! I don’t want to crawl my way through the forest,” he began walking towards Pitou.”Go check on Vito in the meantime.”

Pitou lay still and watched as Bruin passed the lone tree. As he was passing trough there was a quiet ruffling. Suddenly, a bloody hand erupted from below the fallen leaves and grabbed Bruin’s ankle who froze on the spot. Pitou sprung up to dash at the helpless human, but not blocking the previous punch did not leave her unscratched. The sharp pain in her half healed abdomen only stopped her for a few seconds, but by the end of those long seconds the light came back in Bruin’s eyes. He let out a furious battle roar and punched towards her. A massive bear made of nen manifested on him and followed his punch with its paw, extending his reach. Pitou sensed the danger and rolled out of the way, but her left leg collided with the powerful aura. She clenched her teeth not to let out a painful groan as she tried to put some weight on the injured limb. Seeing the opening Bruin moved forward to follow up with his offense, but the hilt of a flying knife hit him on the temple.

“Damn it you punk, you will regret that,” he growled angrily.

“I already do, that was my favorite knife I just threw at your ugly mug,” Dale answered.

Bruin started to move towards him, but as soon as he did Pitou started to get behind him. He didn’t want to lose sight of her, so he was forced to remain between them as they were circling around him from a safe distance, trying to flank him.

“So, what will it be? None of us have the time to waste here,” Bruin crossed his arms.

“You can always just go home with pride you know,” Dale offered.

“If you had any idea what pride is you would be fighting me one on one like a true warrior,” he retaliated.

“You value honor above all huh? Is that why you made it your hatsu?” Dale suddenly asked.

“So that’s what you did. Heh, you only had to ask. Yes, I must fight you on clear terms, answer any of your questions and I can’t harm those who doesn’t have a will to fight. In return every time I give you the upper hand or refuse to choose the easy way out my power grows, just like now by explaining my ability to you. If I were to break my word I would lose all the accumulated power, as well as my ability to use nen for a day but don’t count on that. My hatsu is the manifestation of my honor as a warrior, and it will never break as long as I breath,” he ripped off the sleeves of his shirt to reveal an armband decorated with bear teeth and charged at Dale who desperately tried to keep him at bay by waving his still bleeding hand at him.

For Pitou this was perfect. The human was so confident in his increased power that he choose to ignore her. She now had a good idea on how to defeat the hulking brute and all she needed was a bit of time. There, just at the edge of their arena she noticed a scared bird, trying to protect its nest from them deep within a bush. She quickly moved so her back was facing the helpless creature and feigned an attack towards the bounty hunter who was now close to pummeling Dale to the ground. With a thundering roar he turned back at Pitou and launched a mighty blow. The shining bear paw was sure to follow, barely missed her but dispersed before reaching the bush.

“I know what you are trying to do but it’s useless. I use my power only against vile humans like you, this I swear,” he raised his fist and stuck again, aiming at her head.”Now sleep.”

His fist hit Pitou’s cheek with a loud crack. He looked in disbelief at his broken hand. It felt like he just hit a wall made out of solid steel, his power was gone moments before he finally managed to hit her.

“Wha?! I didn’t.. I don’t understand!” He mumbled in shock.

“You lied to me,” Pitou sent the now nenless man flying with a single slap.

Celyne looked around nervously. To her right Dale was approaching her, tossing his recovered knife into the air and catching it. To her left she saw Pitou who just finished her fight looking back at her with the eyes of a hungry predator. She started backing away as fear began to overtake her. With her companions gone she felt completely vulnerable and helpless.  
  
“Leave me alone!” She shouted and pointed at both of her enemies. A thin line of nen shot out of her fingers, and hit both of them.

As the nen hit her Pitou watched it form into some kind of box with a circular opening. Then the floating construction began emitting terrible waves, immediately irritating her sensitive ears. She dropped to her knees as the attack took effect. Celyne had a very particular hatsu, powered by fear and weakness. Others always saw her as weak and small, so she made a hatsu capable of exploiting the weakness of others. Normally the attack was useless, but as her fear grew so did the intensity of the emitted sound waves. These waves would find any weakness in the opponents body, and resonate in such a way to cause harm.

Right now, Neferpitou’s body was full of such weaknesses. The destructive attack sought out every half healed injury in her body, even the still remaining deeper cuts on her skin and began to tear them open once again. Pitou tightened her jaw as the pain was almost unbearable, her nose began bleeding. The feeling of her own warm blood snapped her out of the shock and stirred up all the built up rage within her. A sinister, deep red aura started to expand from her body. The dense nen shielded her from the harmful waves and dissolved the nen construct by merely a touch. Even the sky seemed to darken as Pitou’s malicious aura fully expanded. She stood up to face her attacker, the menacing aura so intense it almost burned the air around her. Paralyzed by the immense bloodlust all Celyne could see was Pitou’s terrifying, dark silhouette distorted by the blazing aura and a pair of gleaming, red eyes.

Before she could even realize what had happened her head was already in the grasp of Neferpitou. The mere contact with the hateful aura almost stopped her hearth. Then, she was violently hurled away like a helpless toy, passing out even before crashing through the first tree. That wasn’t enough. Pitous nen rippled around her hands, claws almost glowing through the holes in her gloves. The sound of coughing from behind made her look back. Dale was lying on the ground, the freshly drawn blood painted the grass around him red. What was supposed to be a paralyzing attack has been turned into a lethal one due to the immeasurable fear Celyne felt before being knocked out. The surprise made Pitou stop, the crimson aura quickly withdrawing as she knelt down beside the human. By just one look she could tell that he was going to die. Strange, his death was not something she wanted. She played with the idea of what she would do if she could conjure Dr. Blythe. Would she help him? Perhaps, but it was pointless. There was nothing she could do so she began to stand up.

“Wait….Neferpitou”

Hearing her own name made Pitou froze in place, pure astonishment settling on her face.

“I owe you an explanation. I came here to kill you. My family got separated, but not by choice. My mother and brother got stuck in East Gorteau.” he talked slowly, his breathing heavy.” My father finally came up with a plan and left to bring them back, but I never saw them again. After some digging and a lot of money I found out what happened there.”

“I’m...sorry,” was all Pitou could mumble. She was almost in a trance due to how familiar the regret felt, but it was worse now that she knew how it felt like to lose someone. She realised that she didn’t want others to feel it, not even humans.

“I recognised you when I saw you,” he remembered the silent anger he felt when he first looked into her eyes, the same eyes he had nightmares about from reading reports on her. The harsh decision he made when he risked passing the exam, and getting more resources for his search, just to get close to her. He had no idea if she actually had anything to do with his family, but wanted to blame her. “On the train I poisoned your food so you would fall asleep. I wanted to kill you there, but you weren’t what I expected. The way you saved me made me hesitate, and I looked inside you instead.”

“My hatsu lets me see some of the memories of others, and what I saw in you gave me an idea for a better punishment,” he took a slow breath.” I wanted to see how much you remember. When you are lying your steps are a bit shorter while dancing.”

“Remember?” Pitou had a hard time following his words.

“You were right, I’m not like the thabbits,” one of his bloodied hand shot out and grabbed Pitou’s wrist. What he didn’t tell her was that his hatsu was able to make others relive their most traumatic experiences by the use of his blood. Usually this would make the target stunned for a good while, but there were exceptions. Bruin was almost immune to this, because he hardly had anything to regret. Pitou, on the other hand, was the opposite and his severe bleeding made the effect even stronger.

Her vision narrowed down to a colorless tunnel. She looked down on her hands, but instead of the four fingered, clawed ones she saw five fingers ending in nails. Then she finally saw it. A house by the woods, familiar faces and the memories of a simpler life. Memories she should never be able to remember. The same memories that made her able to speak the human language after birth and caused her to love dancing. The ones the queen deemed unnecessary and sealed away deep within the royal guard as to not disturb her important duties.

As Pitous iris shrank to a tiny slit, a tear began to make its way down to her cheeks. Dale sprouted one last smile, he was now sure he slayed the beast he came to kill.


End file.
